Iran leadership 'fractures': Hardline MP jailed over Ghalibaf article
Hardline Iranian lawmaker Hamid Rasaei has become the first sitting MP to be imprisoned during his term, sparking a fierce backlash from ultraconservatives against Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf and Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei. The 10-month sentence, handed down by the Special Clerical Court over a 2024 newspaper article accusing Ghalibaf of "manipulating parliamentary…
Iranian hardline MP Hamid Rasaei, a Tehran lawmaker elected in 2023, has become the first sitting MP to be jailed during his term. The 10-month sentence, handed down by the Special Clerical Court, stems from a 2024 article accusing Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf of manipulating parliamentary documents. Rasaei, a cleric and managing director of the hardline weekly 9 Dey, was convicted of "publishing falsehoods with intent to harm others".
The case was filed by Ghalibaf before Rasaei took his seat in parliament. The imprisonment has sparked a fierce backlash from ultraconservatives against Ghalibaf and Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, deepening divisions within Iran's conservative faction. Analysts suggest the internal dysfunction of Iran's ruling conservative faction is being viewed by the West as a struggle between pro-engagement pragmatists and anti-negotiation hardliners, potentially impacting diplomatic negotiations with the US.
Written by urgent.news from Gulf News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
