Iran has arrested several prominent reformist politicians as the authorities widen their crackdown on dissent following mass anti-government protests that posed one of the biggest threats to the clerical establishment in years.
Iranian media reported the arrests of Ebrahim Asqarzadeh, Mohsen Aminzadeh, and Azar Mansuri — members of the Reformists Front coalition — on February 8. Javad Emam, the spokesman for the coalition, was arrested on February 9.
The authorities used brute force to put down weekslong nationwide protests that erupted in late December, killing several thousand people, according to human rights groups. Since then, the authorities have launched a campaign of mass arrests and targeted prominent activists and political figures.
Tehran has blamed the unrest on “rioters and armed terrorists” who it said were backed by its archenemies, Israel and the United States.
It was not immediately clear what the four reformist politicians had been charged with. The Mizan news agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, said on February 9 that “elements active in the interests of the Zionist regime and the United States” had been arrested. Four people were arrested and charged, it said, without offering more details.
Mizan accused the four of working to “destroy national cohesion by making accusations and spreading untrue positions against the country” during the mass protests.
Mansuri has led the Reformists Front since 2023. She served as an adviser to former reformist President Mohammad Khatami. Asqarzadeh is a former member of parliament, and Aminzadeh is a former deputy foreign minister who served under Khatami.
Political activist and former political prisoner Hossein Razzaq told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda that the authorities are cracking down on any form of dissent. That includes, he said, reformists who “see themselves as loyal to the Islamic republic.”
The Reformists Front has been highly critical of the authorities in the past.
In a statement issued during the state crackdown on the mass protests, the coalition said that “a large segment of Iranian citizens have lost their trust in all the institutions and capacities that were supposed to protect, represent, and pursue their demands.”
After the 12-day war against Israel in June 2025, the Reformists Front warned that “incremental collapse” awaited the country if it did not adopt fundamental reforms.
The arrests of the four reformists came soon after Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, who has been imprisoned repeatedly, was sentenced to a new prison term of 7 1/2 years, her foundation said in a statement on February 7.
In the wake of the mass protests, jailed opposition leaders have called for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down and demanded an investigation into the widespread killing of protesters.
The US-based HRANA rights group says it has verified 6,961 deaths, mostly protesters, and has another 11,630 cases under investigation.
