Germany's Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, has called on UN member states to vote against Iran when it seeks a seat on the United Nations' Human Rights Council later this year. He said having Iranian membership of the council would be an "affront" to human rights. Addressing the Geneva-based UN body, Westerwelle said that Iran was undeserving because it has violated many of its citizens' human rights, including during a postelection crackdown on protesters last year.

In May, the UN General Assembly is expected to elect new members to the 47-nation council, which was set up in 2006 as a successor of the failed UN Human Rights Commission. The regime in Tehran was heavily criticized last month at the council's first-ever review of the human rights situation in Iran.

On Wednesday, six human rights activists were reportedly arrested in Iran, and an appeals court in Tehran upheld the death sentence imposed on a 20-year-old student for his involvement in anti-government protests. Mohammad Amin Valian was found guilty of “waging war against God” for throwing stones at security forces.