Iranian deputies urge anarchy be averted

Former Iranian Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan and 39 other parliamentary deputies warned that political violence was pushing the country towards bloody anarchy. In a letter to the speaker of the 217-member Majlis (parliament) published by three newspapers Wednesday, the deputies deplored increasing street violence and indirectly accused authorities of condoning it.

The letter was prompted by an incident last Saturday in which gangs of Islamic extremists used knives, sticks and guns to break up a rally addressed by a moderate clergyman and deputy, Hassan Lahuti.

It was the second grimly worded comment in as many days on the course of the revolution. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's son Ahmad said Tuesday that political violence had to be stopped immediately because " tomorrow will be too late."