Iran conservatives back Larijani for speaker: media

By Hashem Kalantari

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Conservatives picked one of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's potential rivals for the Iranian presidency for the influential post of speaker in Iran's new parliament on Sunday, Iranian media said.

The main conservative faction, which secured a majority in a March parliamentary election, overwhelmingly voted in favor of Ali Larijani, Iran's former top nuclear negotiator.

Larijani received 161 of the votes cast at the internal meeting against 50 for current speaker Gholamali Haddadadel, the official IRNA news agency said, citing one MP at the session.

Larijani quit as top nuclear negotiator last year citing differences with Ahmadinejad over how to handle the atomic row with the West. He was elected to parliament in the March vote.

Larijani was beaten in the 2005 presidential race but analysts expect him to run again. They say he may become a rallying point for conservative MPs who oppose the president's economic policies and his fiery speeches against the West.

The speaker post could provide a launch pad for higher office. The new assembly holds its first meeting on Tuesday.

One Iranian analyst said he expected Larijani to be officially elected as speaker unless "something extraordinary happens" and that the conservatives recognized the need for change in view of economic problems such as high inflation.

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