Iranian principlists should not be confused with Principlism.
| Principlists | |||||||||||||||
| Colorcode: |
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| Leader1 Title: | Spiritual leader | ||||||||||||||
| Leader1 Name: | Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel | ||||||||||||||
| Leader2 Title: | Parliamentary leader | ||||||||||||||
| Leader2 Name: | Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf | ||||||||||||||
| Ideology: | Islamism Theocracy[1] Vilayat Faqih Factions: Traditionalism Populism Pragmatism Fundamentalism Nationalism[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Position: | Right-wing | ||||||||||||||
| Religion: | Shia Islam | ||||||||||||||
| Country: | Iran | ||||||||||||||
| Blank1: |
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The Principlists (Persian: اصولگرایان|Osul-Garāyān,), also interchangeably known as the Iranian Conservatives[3] [4] and formerly referred to as the Right or Right-wing,[4] [5] are one of two main political camps in post-revolutionary Iran; the Reformists are the other camp. The term hardliners that some western sources use in the Iranian political context usually refers to the faction, although the principlist camp also includes more centrist tendencies. The faction rejects the status quo internationally, albeit tends on domestic preservation.
Within Iranian politics, "principlist" refers to the conservative supporters of the Supreme Leader of Iran and advocates for protecting the ideological "principles" of the Islamic Revolution's early days.[6] According to Hossein Mousavian, "The Principlists constitute the main right-wing/conservative political movement in Iran. They are more religiously oriented and more closely affiliated with the Qom-based clerical establishment than their moderate and reformist rivals".
A declaration issued by The Two Societies, which serves as the Principlists "manifesto", focuses upon loyalty to Islam and the Iranian Revolution, obedience to the Supreme Leader of Iran, and devotion to the principle of Vilayat Faqih.[7]
According to a poll conducted by the Iranian Students Polling Agency (ISPA) in April 2017, 15% of Iranians identify as leaning Principlist. In comparison, 28% identify as leaning Reformist.
The Principlists currently dominate the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Assembly of Experts, as well as non-elective institutions such as the Guardian Council, the Expediency Discernment Council, along with the Judiciary.[7]
They held the Presidency until the inauguration of Reformist Masoud Pezeshkian on 30 July 2024.[8]
| Year | Candidate(s) | Votes | % | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri | 7,248,317 | 24.87 | ||
| 2001 | Ahmad Tavakkoli | 4,387,112 | 15.58 | ||
| Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | 5,711,696 | 19.43 | 2nd | ||
| Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf | 4,095,827 | 13.93 | 4th | ||
| Ali Larijani | 1,713,810 | 5.83 | 6th | ||
| Total | 11,521,333 | 39.19 | |||
| 2005/2 | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | 17,284,782 | 61.69 | ||
| Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | 24,527,516 | 62.63 | 1st | ||
| Mohsen Rezaee | 678,240 | 1.73 | 3rd | ||
| Total | 25,205,756 | 64.36 | |||
| Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf | 6,077,292 | 16.56 | 2nd | ||
| Saeed Jalili | 4,168,946 | 11.36 | 3rd | ||
| Mohsen Rezaee | 3,884,412 | 10.58 | 4th | ||
| Ali Akbar Velayati | 2,268,753 | 6.18 | 6th | ||
| Total | 16,399,403 | 44.68 | |||
| Ebrahim Raisi | 15,835,794 | 38.28 | 2nd | ||
| Mostafa Mir-Salim | 478,267 | 1.16 | 3rd | ||
| Total | 16,314,061 | 39.44 | |||
| Ebrahim Raisi | 18,021,945 | 72.35 | 1st | ||
| Mohsen Rezaee | 3,440,835 | 13.81 | 2nd | ||
| Total | 21,462,780 | 86.16 | |||
| Saeed Jalili | 9,473,298 | 40.38 | 2nd | ||
| Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf | 3,363,340 | 14.34 | 3rd | ||
| Mostafa Pourmohammadi | 206,397 | 0.88 | 4th | ||
| Total | 13,043,035 | 55.60 | |||
| 2024/2 | Saeed Jalili | 13,538,179 | 45.24 | ||