Hassan Khomeini, 43, a grandson of Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, talks to journalists after he registered for February's election of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that chooses the supreme leader, at Interior Ministry in Tehran December 18, 2015. REUTERS/TIMA
DUBAI (Reuters) - The grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, will not be allowed to stand in this month's election in Iran, the clerical vetting body said on Wednesday, in a blow to reformist forces in the country.
Hassan Khomeini, 43, the first member of the Khomeini family to register for polls and an ally of President Hassan Rouhani, lost an appeal to the body against a ban. The setback comes at a time of growing rivalry between reformists and conservatives stirred by a deal with world powers that lifted economic sanctions against Tehran as part of a nuclear agreement.
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