Iran Arrests At Least Four Reform Front Politicians

Iranian authorities have arrested at least four members of the Reform Front, an umbrella group of reformists and moderates, amid a campaign of arrests following last month's crackdown on protests, the bloodiest unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

State media reported on Sunday that three senior figures were detained: Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, Mohsen Aminzadeh and Azar Mansouri, who serves as the front's head, according to Reuters. The Islamic Iran Nation’s Union Party called for Mansouri's release, the Shargh newspaper said Monday.

Shargh reported that at least two more Reform Front members were summoned to Tehran's Evin prison prosecutor's office on Tuesday. Reform Front spokesperson Javad Emam was also arrested, according to Mansouri's lawyer, Hojjat Kermani.

Kermani told the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) that the cause of the arrests was unclear, noting the Reform Front had not issued a statement on the recent protests. "Individuals may have commented on their own," he said.

The judiciary's media outlet Mizan stated Sunday that four "important political elements supporting the Zionist (regime) and the United States" had been indicted, without providing details. Tehran has attributed unrest-related violence to "rioters and armed terrorists" backed by Israel and the United States.

Past Reform Front statements criticized authorities sharply. Following a 12-day war with Israel, members warned of the country's "incremental collapse" without fundamental reforms. Kermani said the recent arrests were unrelated to a judicial case launched against the front over that statement.