Iran arrests at least four reform front politicians as crackdown expands

The Islamic Iran Nation’s Union Party sought the release of secretary-general Azar Mansouri, the Shargh newspaper says, after her arrest along with other members of the Reform Front, an umbrella body of Iranian reformists and moderates.

A campaign of mass arrests and intimidation has led to the arrests of thousands as authorities seek to deter further protests after last month’s crackdown on the bloodiest unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Yesterday, state media said three senior figures from Iran’s Reform Front were arrested, among them Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, Mohsen Aminzadeh, and Azar Mansouri, who acts as the front’s head.

Shargh says at least two more Reform Front members were asked to report to the prosecutor’s office in Tehran’s Evin prison tomorrow.

The Reform Front’s spokesperson, Javad Emam, was also arrested, Mansouri’s lawyer, Hojjat Kermani, says, adding that it was unclear what charges those detained face.

On Sunday, the judiciary’s media outlet Mizan said “four important political elements supporting the Zionist (regime) and the United States” were indicted, but gave no details.

Tehran has blamed unrest-related violence on “rioters and armed terrorists” it says were backed by its key enemies, Israel and the United States.

Past Reform Front statements have been highly critical of authorities. After the 12-day war against Israel, its members warned that “incremental collapse” awaited the country if it did not adopt fundamental reforms.