The Principlists ( fa, اصول‌گرایان, Osul-Garāyān, ), also interchangeably known as the Iranian Conservatives Cc by-nc-nd euro icon

Open access material licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. and formerly referred to as the Right or Right-wing, are one of two main political camps inside post-

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

Iran, the other being Reformists. The term ''

hardliner In politics, hardline (or hard-line) is an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views. The stance is usually far from the centrist view. People, policies, ...

s'' 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 camp rejects the ''

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

'' internationally, but tends to preserve it domestically. Within Iranian politics, a 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. 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 Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...

-based clerical establishment than their moderate and reformist rivals". A declaration issued by The Two Societies, which serves as the Principlists "manifesto", focuses on loyalty to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

and the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

, obedience to the Supreme Leader of Iran, and devotion to the principle of '' Vilayat Faqih''. 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 Assembly of Experts as well as non-elective institutions such as the

Guardian Council The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence i ...

, Expediency Discernment Council and the Judiciary.

Factions

*Ultra conservatives—also known as neoconservatives—consists of laymen representing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) collectively. These conservatives support the Islamist government and are more aggressive and openly confrontational toward the West. *Traditional conservatives are a political faction that helped form the Revolutionary government and can point to personal ties with

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...

. These conservatives support the Islamist government and advocate for clerical rule.

Election results

Presidential elections

Parties and organizations

Alliances

* The Two Societies (Unofficial) *

Front of Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader Front of Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader ( fa, جبهه پیروان خط امام (ره) و رهبری), formerly known as Islamic Aligned Organizations ( fa, تشکل‌های اسلامی همسو) is a Coalition of Iranian ...

(founded in the 1990s) * Coordination Council of Islamic Revolution Forces (founded 2000) *

Front of Transformationalist Principlists Front of Transformationalist Principlists ( fa, جبهه اصول‌گرایان تحول‌خواه) is an Iranian principlist political group, consisting of Society of Devotees of the Islamic Revolution and Society of Pathseekers of the Islamic R ...

(founded 2005) * Resistance Front of Islamic Iran (founded 2011) * Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces (founded 2016) ;Electoral * Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran (2003, 2004) * Coalition of Iran's Independent Volunteers (2004) *

Coalition of the Pleasant Scent of Servitude The Coalition of the Pleasant Scent of Servitude, the Sweet Scent of Servitude or the Joyful Essence of Obedience ( fa, ائتلاف رايحه خوش خدمت) was a conservative political group in Iran that supported Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his ...

(2006) *

Principlists Pervasive Coalition , founded = 2008 , split = Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran , merged = United Front of Principlists ( Ghalibaf and Larijani faction) , successor = Resistance Front ( Rezaee faction) , ideology = Conservatism , position = Right-wing , ...

(2008) *

United Front of Principlists , national = Principlists , blank1_title = 2008 Member Alliances , blank1 = , blank2_title = 2012 Member Alliances , blank2 = , headquarters = Tehran, Iran , seats1_title = 8th Parliament , seats1 = , seats2_title = 9th Parliament , ...

(2008, 2012) * Insight and Islamic Awakening Front (2012) *

Principlists Grand Coalition Principlists Grand Coalition ( fa, ائتلاف بزرگ اصول‌گرایان) is a principlist coalition and electoral list for the 2016 Iranian legislative election Parliamentary elections were held in Iran on 26 February 2016 to elect memb ...

(2016) *

Service list The Service List ( fa, ليست خدمت, List-e Ḵedmaṭ) was the sole electoral alliance of conservatives for the 2017 municipal election of Tehran. According to '' Financial Tribune'', the list was compiled by the Popular Front of Islamic ...

(2017)

Media

*''

Kayhan ''Kayhan'' ( fa, کيهان, '' en, The Cosmos'') is a newspaper published in Tehran, Iran. It is considered "the most conservative Iranian newspaper." Hossein Shariatmadari is the editor-in-chief of ''Kayhan''. According to the report of the '' ...

'' *'' Resalat'' *''

Vatan-e-Emrooz ''Vatan-e Emrooz'' (Persian: وطن امروز lit. "Homeland Today") is a full-color daily Persian-language newspaper managed by Mehrdad Bazrpash (an ally of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former head of the student Basij organization bra ...

'' *''

Abrar ''Abrar'' (''Samaritans'' in English) is a Persian-language daily newspaper published in Tehran, Iran. History and profile ''Abrar'' was first published on 8 November 1988. The printing of the paper was done using the printing facility of a defu ...

'' *'' Yalasarat'' *''

Partow-e Sokhan Partow-e Sokhan ( fa, پرتو سخن, lit=Radiation of Speech) is a Persian language weekly newspaper published by the Imam Khomeini Educational Research Institute in Qom Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the sev ...

'' * Rajanews

References

External links

{{Conservatism Politics of Iran History of the Islamic Republic of Iran Political factions in Iran Political neologisms Islamism in Iran Right-wing politics in Asia Conservatism in Iran Theocrats Euphemisms