Iran defiant as Germany leads push against recent crackdowns

BERLIN (AP) — Western diplomats and the U.N. human rights chief are appealing to Iran’s government to halt a bloody crackdown against protesters at a special Human Rights Council session to discuss a bid for greater scrutiny of the country’s deteriorating rights situation. Iran’s envoy was defiant and unbowed, blasting a “politically motivated” effort. The 47-member state council was set to consider Thursday a proposal by Germany and Iceland to set up a team to monitor human rights in Iran as protests continue. They were trigged by the death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while being held by the morality police for violating a strictly enforced Islamic dress code.