Pro-reform party launched in Iran

A new pro-reform party was launched in Iran on Tuesday to contest legislative elections due in March 2016, targeting the votes of supporters of moderate President Hassan Rowhani.

Nedaye Iranian (The Call of Iranians) was “born of the new atmosphere” created by Rowhani’s victory in the June 2013 presidential election, it said in a statement announcing the launch.

The party would stand for “growth and development... a civil society as well as respect for the country’s freedom and independence”.

Mohammad Sadegh Kharrazi, a former ambassador to France and representative to the United Nations as well as adviser to reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami, is listed among leaders of the party, which also names Shahab Tabatabaei, a nephew of Khatami, in its ranks.

Reformists were almost wiped out in the ranks of parliament in March 2012 after boycotting polls because of the repression of protests over the June 2009 re-election of Rowhani’s hardline predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

But since the rise of Rowhani they have made a comeback in Iranian politics which is roughly divided into conservative and reformist camps.

Fifteen applications have been filed with the interior ministry for authorization to form new parties, an official said.