TEHRAN, Feb 19: Iran's Islamic conservatives were poised to tighten their grip on power here on Friday by winning controversial parliamentary polls and sweeping out a frustrated and largely disqualified reformist majority.

With most reformist candidates barred from standing and public indifference widespread, the only element of suspense was how many of Iran's 46.3 million eligible voters would turn out.

The conservatives were expected to reverse the crushing reformist majority and add parliament to the wealth of political and security institutions they already control in the 25-year-old Islamic republic.

On the eve of the vote, the reformist camp also came under renewed pressure with the hardline judiciary shutting down two newspapers that dared to publish a scathing protest letter from reformist MPs to the country's supreme leader.

And Iran's powerful intelligence minister sought to put an end to fears the polls were being rigged after some disgruntled MPs claimed hardliners were taking no chances and had printed fake voter cards.

"The distribution of such a great number of fake identity cards, undetected by supervisory and executive organisations, would be out of the question," Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

He added that such claims were part of a "psychological war" against the regime, which regularly warns of US or "Zionist" plots, and warned that those responsible for circulating them could be prosecuted. The office of Tehran's public prosecutor sealed off the premises of pro-reform dailies Shargh and Yas-e No. -AFP