BEIRUT - The surprise victory of a hard-liner in Iran's presidential election Friday is likely to delay any rapprochement with the United States and could lead to a confrontation with the West over Iran's nuclear program.
In Iran, the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad raised fears that he would roll back political reforms and social liberties achieved over the past eight years, when young people swept the reform-minded Mohammad Khatami into the presidency. Ahmadinejad, the mayor of Tehran, who was backed by conservative clerics and the military, has said he wants to bring the country back to the days after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
During the campaign, he said that improving relations with Washington would not be one of his priorities, unlike his opponent, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a two-time president. Ahmadinejad also has expressed scorn for Western-style democracy. "We did not have a revolution in order to have democracy," he has said to supporters.
In his first public comments since winning Friday's runoff election, Ahmadinejad tried yesterday to strike a conciliatory tone, urging conservatives and reformers to move beyond the bitter election campaign. "Let us turn competition to friendship. We are all part of a nation and a big family," he said in a short statement broadcast on state-run radio. "My mission is to create a role model of a modern, advanced, powerful and Islamic society."
With his victory, conservatives have regained control over all of Iran's government. Last year, hard-liners won the majority in parliament after an unelected council of clerics barred most reform candidates from running.
Ahmadinejad's opponents worry that he will increase Iran's international isolation, hasten an economic decline and create new confrontations with the United States and Europe over human rights abuses and nuclear development.
Some analysts argue that a hard-line government will enable the Bush administration to challenge Iran more strongly on its nuclear program and its support for militant groups. "Iran could become even more isolated, and Europe may not be able to counter U.S. pressure," said Hamid Reza Jalaeipour, a political sociologist at Tehran University and a leading reformer.
Appointed mayor of the Iranian capital two years ago, Ahmadinejad, 49, has never held an elected office and has no experience in international diplomacy. He was formerly a commander in the Revolutionary Guard and an instructor in the basiji militia, which enforces social codes.
