Iranian opposition party calls for new elections as a way to end protests
An opposition party in Iran called for new elections as a way to end demonstrations in recent weeks over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested in the capital Tehran for allegedly wearing the veil incorrectly.
"The lack of political legitimacy is the most obvious threat to the country's national security," argued the secretary general of the reformist Islamic People's Union Party of Iran, Azar Mansuri, in a message on her Twitter account.
"They want to implement legitimate amendments? Don't eliminate the problem. Look for the reasons behind the popular protests and ask yourselves what happened when the protests were taken to the streets," he has indicated, before calling for "free elections" in the country.
Mansuri's call came after more than 220 Iranian parliamentarians have called on the courts to hand down death sentences against protesters and compared them to members of the Islamic State terrorist group.
The statement, signed by 227 of the 290 deputies, calls the protesters 'mohareb', equivalent to warrior but also 'enemy of God', which carries the death penalty in Iran.
The crackdown on protests over Amini's death, which include calls for the fall of the Iranian regime, have so far resulted in the deaths of more than 300 people, the non-governmental organisation Iran Human Rights (IHR) said.
