Security Council meeting to discuss the situation in Iran

The US will next week turn the UN's focus on the protests in Iran that were set off by the death of a woman in police custody and look for ways to promote credible, independent investigations into Iranian human rights abuses.

The US and Albania will hold an informal UN Security Council gathering on Wednesday, according to a note seen by Reuters.

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and Iranian-born actress and human rights campaigner Nazanin Boniadi are scheduled to brief it.

“The meeting will highlight the repression of women and girls and members of religious and ethnic minority groups in Iran,” the note said. “It will identify opportunities to promote credible, independent investigations into the Iranian government's human rights violations and abuses.”

Independent UN investigator on human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, is also scheduled to address the meeting, which can be attended by UN member states and human rights groups.

Iran has been gripped by protests since the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, 22, in police custody last month. The unrest has turned into a popular revolt by Iranians from across society, posing one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution.

Rights groups have said at least 250 protesters have been killed and thousands arrested in Iran. Women have played a prominent part in the protests, removing and burning veils. The deaths of several teenage girls reportedly during protests have fueled anger.