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She Won a Seat in Iran's Parliament, But Hard-Liners Had Other Plans
(New York Times) Thomas Erdbrink - Minoo Khaleghi easily won a seat in the Iranian Parliament in February, part of a wave of independents and reformists. On Wednesday, however, Iran's judiciary ruled that Khaleghi could not be sworn in, Fars news agency reported. Photographs of Khaleghi leaked on social media last week showed her in public in Europe and in China without the obligatory Islamic headscarf. Opposition-aligned analysts and Khaleghi shot back that the case against her was politically motivated, more about curtailing and marginalizing prominent reformists - and a woman. Khaleghi said the photographs were malicious fakes. The case illustrates how state religion continues to trump politics in Iran, even after the electoral gains of moderate forces, analysts said.