Skip to main content

Far-left current rises from among Iranian hardliners

Iran’s ultraconservatives have given birth to their worst nightmare — a group so left-leaning that hardliners consider them would-be communists.
A general view of the Iranian parliament in Tehran, Iran June 25, 2019.  Nazanin Tabatabaee/West Asia News Agency via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC1189997B90

Ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for Feb. 21, Iranian hard-liners find themselves facing an unprecedented challenge: the emergence of a group with left-leaning tendencies spawned inside its own conservative camp.

The mostly young activists of the Justice Seekers current are practically communists in the eyes of their former friends on the far-right. In the latters' eyes, the Justice Seekers represent a threat in their willingness to cross certain redlines. As a result of some of the group's actions, two of its senior members have been barred from running in the elections, and two other prominent members were arrested Feb. 11, perhaps as a warning, given that they were quickly released. The hard-liner-controlled security apparatus has reportedly forced the Justice Seekers to cancel a number of campaign events they had planned.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.