Rafsanjani gain dents reformist win

Right-winger Hashemi Rafsanjani moved up the list

The reformist victory in Iran's election has been confirmed with the long-awaited announcement of the Tehran results.

However, right-wingers made unexpected gains in the recount, with former President Hashemi Rafsanjani enjoying a dramatic improvement.

The conservative Council of Guardians officially endorsed the overall reformist win after three months of recounts and argument over alleged irregularities.

President Khatami's reformist supporters achieved sweeping victory

Supporters of the moderate President Mohammad Khatami are due to take control of parliament next week - for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The Guardian Council, which has the final say over results, approved 28 of the capital's 30 seats The two others will be decided in a run-off.

The reformists won 26 places, although three were displaced from the original list, and a right-winger not previously included was given a place.

Speaker of parliament

Mr Rafsanjani, who had campaigned as the leading candidate for the right-wing factions, came 20th, the Guardian Council said. He had initially been placed between 28 and 30.

His improvement makes him a possible candidate to be the next speaker of parliament, and his chances are being boosted by a split in the reformers' ranks over who their candidate should be.

President Khatami's brother Mohammad-Reza, leader of the reformist camp, topped the list.

Ayatollah Khamenei had intervened in the deadlock

The result came after the Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, intervened in the deadlock, saying the results should not be delayed any longer.

He said ballot boxes which were the subject of alleged irregularities should not be included in the count.

The Council of Guardians said it had annulled the returns from more than 500 boxes to achieve its final figures.

Reformists 'unhappy'

Reports on Iranian television said the final result was achieved by setting aside more than 720,000 votes out of a total of just under three million.

The BBC's Jim Muir says the reformists are not likely to be pleased with the final announcement.

They won sweeping victories over their conservative rivals in the February election, but the Council of Guardians alleged widespread fraud and had already cancelled some results from elsewhere in the country.

The results for 241 out of the 290 seats in the new parliament have now been confirmed, with the overwhelming majority going to reformists.