Iran blast continues....more from Bill Gertz...

Iran-backed Shi'ite majority battles for control of parliament in Bahrain, host to U.S. Fifth Fleet

King Hamad faces a Shi'ite majority, under the increasing influence of Iran, which is preparing to take control of parliament over the next week.

Hamad, who became king in 2002, has sought to balance his desire for a Western-oriented monarchy with his intent to maintain his Sunni Arab regime amid rising demands from the Shi'ites, who have becoming increasingly restless over the past year.

Unless it takes over the 40-member parliament the Shi'ite opposition has vowed to destabilize Hamad's regime. The opposition has accused the government of ordering the military and police to support the ruling Sunni coalition. This was the first election that allowed political parties to run slates. In the 2002 elections, individual candidates ran for office.

"I'm still anxious about the transparency of these elections," said Ali Salman, head of the Shi'ite opposition Al Wefaq National Islamic Society.

Salman, a Shi'ite cleric who expects to be the next speaker of parliament, has set a clear barometer for whether the elections were rigged. He said if his group — which boycotted the 2002 elections — did not win at least 13 seats, then the regime was to blame. Later, he upped the figure to 17 seats.

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