Conservatives won an overwhelming majority in Iran's parliamentary elections but the strong showing by some more moderate figures means Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, the president, could face greater challenges from the legislature in the next 18 months.

The government can claim victory but analysts said how much support Mr Ahmadi-Nejad enjoyed in the next parliament would depend on whether he took decisive action to fix Iran's economic woes. "The government may be enjoying more support in the next parliament in terms of numbers but, in the meantime, it faces influential -figures like [former nuclear negotiator Ali] Larijani who can weaken Mr Ahmadi-Nejad a lot," said Akbar Montajabi, a leading reformist journalist.