Front of Islamic Revolution Stability

The Front of Islamic Revolution Stability,[a] also known as the Paydari Front,[2] is an Iranian principlist political group led by Sadegh Mahsouli as secretary-general since 2021.

Front of Islamic Revolution Stability
جبههٔ پایداری انقلاب اسلامی
Secretary-GeneralSadegh Mahsouli
SpokespersonMajid Mottaghifar
PatronMojtaba Khamenei[1]
Spiritual leaderMahdi Mirbaqiri
Founded28 July 2011; 14 years ago (2011-07-28)
Legalized23 September 2014; 11 years ago (2014-09-23)
Preceded byCoalition of the Pleasant Scent of Servitude
NewspaperRajanews
IdeologyIslamic fundamentalism (Iranian)
Wilāyat al-Faqīh (Absolute)
Mahdism
Political positionFar-right
National affiliationPrinciplists
SloganRationality, Spirituality, Justice
Parliament
79 / 290
Website
https://www.jebhepaydari.ir

The group was established as an electoral list for the 2012 legislative election. Mahdi Mirbaqiri is said to be the "spiritual leader" behind the group, while Mojtaba Khamenei has been reported to be the patron of the group. Rajanews is its online mouthpiece.[3][4]

History

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The predecessor of the party was the Coalition of the Pleasant Scent of Servitude.[5] The Front of Islamic Revolution Stability was founded on 28 July 2011.[6] It was established as an electoral list for the 2012 legislative election

In 2013, the front supported Saeed Jalili for president after Kamran Bagheri Lankarani's withdrawal,[citation needed] and it released electoral lists for local elections in several cities, with a landslide victory in Mashhad City Council.[7]

In recent years, the group has been influential in passing new laws, such as chastity laws, and in attempts to reinstate the mandatory hijab, which had seen a de facto suspension following widespread protests in 2022.[8]

Description and people

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Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, the party's current patron

The Persian name Jebhe-ye pāydārī-ye enqelāb-e eslāmī is variously translated as Front of Islamic Revolution Stability, Persevering Front,[9] Endurance Front,[10] Steadfast Front[11] and Paydari Front.[12]

The group's slogan is "Rationality, Spirituality, Justice".[3]

The party comprises, among others, former ministers of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was president of Iran from 2005 to 2013.[citation needed] Mahdi Mirbaqiri is said to be the "spiritual leader" behind the group, while Mojtaba Khamenei has been reported to be the patron of FIRS.[13]

As of March 2026, Mojtaba Khamenei is the patron of the party.[13]

As of 2014, Fatemeh Alia was the Women's Wing chairwoman, while the Student wing chairman was Jalal Abbasian.[3]

Views

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The party's views are based on Islamic fundamentalism, Wilāyat al-Faqīh (Absolute), and Mahdism.[2] The party's views have been consistently described as far-right by various analysts, including Saeed Barzin of BBC News in 2012 and Maryam Sinaiee of Iran International in 2025.[14][15]

The front declares that it stands against both "sedition" (2009 Iranian presidential election protests) and the "deviant current". Rajanews website is its online mouthpiece.[3][16]

The Economist described them as "Shia supremacists who oppose any kind of compromise with anyone inside or outside Iran",[8] and as "the extreme end of the fundamentalist camp" and "Iran's most right-wing party".[12]

The group's influence extends to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), where they have strategically positioned clerics and commanders who share their hardline ideologies. Many of the recent generation's commanders have undergone extensive training at summer camps conducted by clerics from this group.[8]

Election results

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President

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Election Candidate Votes % Rank
2013 Saeed Jalili 4,168,946 11.36% 3rd
2017 Ebrahim Raisi 15,786,449 38.28% 2nd
2021 Ebrahim Raisi 18,021,945 62.90% 1st
2024 Saeed Jalili 13,538,179 45.24% 2nd

Parliament

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Election Seats +/− Ref
2012
85 / 290(29%)
Steady[b][17]
2016
24 / 290(8%)
Decrease 58[18]
2020
8 / 290(3%)
Decrease 16
2024
79 / 290(27%)
Increase 71

City councils

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Council 2013 2017
Seats Ref Seats
Tehran
8 / 31(26%)
[7]
0 / 21(0%)
Mashhad
15 / 25(60%)
[7]
0 / 15(0%)
Qom
19 / 21(90%)
[c]
Tabriz
3 / 21(14%)
[d]
0 / 13(0%)
Isfahan
4 / 21(19%)
[20]
0 / 13(0%)

Members

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Party leaders

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Current officeholders

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[when?]

Parliament members

Footnotes

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  1. Also translated as other names; see Description section
  2. Some of MPs are shared with other conservative groups, such as United Front of Conservatives.
  3. 19 members were in a coalition list consisted of conservative groups called "Conservative Grand Coalition", including Front of Islamic Revolution Stability.[7]
  4. Front of Islamic Revolution Stability released a 21-man list for Tabriz,[19] 3 were elected.[7]

References

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  1. "Mojtaba Khamenei: The shadow prince who rose to became Iran's supreme leader". Iran International. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  2. 1 2 Maryam Sinaee (18 February 2025), The Paydari Party: Iran’s ultra-hardliner powerhouse explained, Iran International
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Iran: A Political Threat to Rouhani? Introducing the Endurance Front". EA WorldView. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  4. Bozorgmehr, Najmeh (23 February 2012). "Hardline group emerges as Iran poll threat". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  5. Farshid Ghazanfarpoor (8 March 2015). "Principlists seeking a good deal for the elections". Shahrvand (in Persian). No. 519. p. 2.
  6. "جبهه پایداری انقلاب اسلامی چیست و چگونه شکل گرفت؟". Khabar Online. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "سهم گروه‌های سیاسی از چهارمین انتخابات شورای شهر در تهران و ۸ شهر بزرگ". Khabar Online. July 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "Iranians fear their brittle regime will drag them into war". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  9. Moore, Eric D. (2014). Russia–Iran Relations Since the End of the Cold War. Routledge. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-317-80825-1.
  10. "Hard-line Endurance Front says Rouhani's time is up". Al Monitor. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  11. Katouzian, Homa (2013). Iran: Politics, History and Literature. Routledge. pp. xvii–xviii. ISBN 978-0-415-63689-6.
  12. 1 2 "Iran's election: Even hardliners want reform: A backlash is taking place against conservatism". The Economist. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  13. 1 2 "Mojtaba Khamenei: The shadow prince who rose to became Iran's supreme leader". Iran International. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  14. Saeed Barzin (27 February 2012). "Guide: Iranian parliamentary elections". BBC World. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  15. Sinaiee, Maryam (18 February 2025). "The Paydari Party: Iran's ultra-hardliner powerhouse explained". Iran International. The Paydari Party, positioned at the far right of the Islamic Republic's political spectrum, remains relatively small but has significantly expanded its influence in Parliament and key state institutions in recent years.
  16. Bozorgmehr, Najmeh (23 February 2012). "Hardline group emerges as Iran poll threat". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  17. "+جدول گرايشات سياسي منتخبان مرحله اول و دوم مجلس نهم؛ ۲۰۰ نماينده مجلس‌هشتم از نمايندگي بازماندند/ ۱۶ از ۳۰؛ رأی معنادار به پایداری در تهران/ ۸۵نامزد پایداری بهارستانی‌شدند". Raja News. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  18. "کمرنگ شدن دلواپسان "جبهه پایداری" در مجلس دهم", Manoto, 8 May 2016, retrieved 30 June 2016
  19. "کاندیداهای "جبهه پایداری تبریز‌" معرفی شدند". Fars News Agency. June 2013. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  20. "در شورای شهر اصفهان چه می گذرد؟!". Farheekhtegan News Agency. Retrieved 10 March 2015.