Iran's main reformist party on Monday called for a broad moderate front to contest March legislative elections, warning that the country risks "war and isolation" under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"Today, two years after the arrival of the new government the consequences of its foreign policy are being felt," the Islamic Iran Participation Front said in a statement quoted by the Mehr news agency.
"After two unprecedented UN Security Council resolutions against Iran, unfortunately the preparations for a third resolution have started and the propaganda threats, notably military, of American and European countries have begun."
It is necessary to form "a substantial front of reformers based on the interests and security of the country to avoid war and isolation," it said.
Moderates loyal to former presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami will try to challenge the hardliners close to the president in the parliamentary elections on March 14.
They will be hoping to avoid the divisions that have cost moderates dear in past elections.
The political temperature in Iran has heightened considerably in recent weeks, with both sides exhanging unusually explicit verbal blows over the government's performance on the economy and foreign policy issues.
While there is a general consensus among the political factions on Iran's right to nuclear energy, moderates have accused Ahmadinejad of provoking the crisis with an overly confrontational stance.
The government insists it is merely defending Iran's natural rights and Ahmadinejad claimed the latest US intelligence report on the Iranian nuclear drive was a "great victory" for the Islamic republic.
The report said that Iran had halted a nuclear weapons programme in 2003, an assertion some analysts believe has momentarily taken the heat out of the crisis and reduced the probability of US military action against Tehran.
