Ever since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was agreed in principle in 2015 by Iran and the P5+1 group of nations (U.S., U.K., France, Russia, and China plus Germany), the Islamic Republic has teetered between fully committing to being a moderate, Western-friendly regime or a hardline, anti-West but pro-Russia and China state. The strong showing in last week’s four-yearly parliamentary elections of the hardline (‘Principlist’) faction, comprising religious conservatives supported by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC), portends a decisive shift towards the latter hardline state model, reinforced by the existing political structure of the country. It is true that the specific powers of Iran’s 290-member parliament (Majlis) are not as extensive as those of the parliaments of many other countries but it is also true that with at least 220 members being hardline conservatives the result of the latest four-yearly election that took place last week […]