The Human Rights Council on the United Nations has voted to appoint a special investigator to monitor Iran amid a crackdown on dissent and surge in executions in the country. Ending a nine year break in such dedicated scrutiny, the council voted by 22 to 7 for a resolution that decided "to appoint a special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran." Fourteen council member states abstained.

A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry called the decision "unjust, unjustifiable, and totally political." He said the move is meant to divert attention from human rights violations in the West, particularly in the United States.