Iran’s Foreign Ministry has vehemently condemned the meeting and resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council, noting that “multifaceted political goals” are behind these anti-Iranian measures.
In a statement late on Thursday, the ministry blasted the measure of a few Western countries in "imposing" an anti-Iranian resolution to the UN Human Rights Council earlier that day.
“It is a source of regret that the UNHRC is being misused by few countries to pursue their short-term interests,” read the statement.
“Undoubtedly, the measure adopted by the German regime and other founders of the UNHRC special meeting was a historic mistake originated from multifaceted political goals,” it highlighted.
The meeting was convened at the request of Germany and Iceland to discuss alleged human rights violations in Iran during the handling of recent foreign-backed riots in the country.
During the Thursday session, the council members adopted an anti-Iranian resolution, calling for the establishment of an international fact-finding mission to probe Iran's response to the protests.
Riots broke out in Iran on September 16 after a young Iranian woman, identified as Mahsa Amini died. The 22-year-old fainted at a police station in the capital, Tehran, and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. An official report by Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization said that Amini’s controversial death was caused by an illness rather than alleged blows to the head or other vital body organs.
Voicing regret over the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, the ministry said the Iranian government has already established fact-finding committees and the results of investigations have been shared with the public as well as with human rights mechanisms in Geneva and New York.
“Despite some protesters’ resorting to violence and causing riots based on foreign-organized abuses, provocations, and interventions in the past two months and adoption of terrorist measures by few individuals and armed groups, defending forces of the country’s security have dealt with rioters with maximum restraint as tens of police and security forces have been martyred and thousands more have sustained injuries,” reads the statement.
The statement reminded that the activities of the Human Rights Council should be based on dialogue and aim to help governments to promote human rights, adding, “Despite many selective, unfair, and even biased behaviors of a group of countries in the council, Iran has always emphasized constructive participation and deeply believes that the international community members can only help promote human rights by dialogue, cooperation and exchange of experience.”
'Strategic mistake'
“The German government and some other contributing Western countries to this resolution have made a strategic mistake based on wrong calculations and under the pressure of specific political lobbies and the fake news of some anti-Iranian media,” noted the ministry, adding, “time will show that this political short-sightedness will be to their detriment.”
Referring to Western-back media’s provocation of terror and violence in Iran, the statement said the resolution passed in Geneva was a “direct result of using wrong information to pursue anti-Iranian goals in by few Western states.”
According to the statement, Iranian authorities have shown maximum restraint towards arrested rioters, especially with regard to women, however, “the German regime and its aligned governments raised provocative and false claims about violation of human rights and the rights of women and children.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran was opposed to the special meeting and considered it inconsistent, abnormal, and unnecessary based on grounds for holding 34 previous special meetings about different countries and issues in the past years and hence, completely rejects the resolution passed in the meeting,” added the statement.
'Violation of national sovereignty'
Referring to the establishment of a specialized committee to investigate the death of Mahsa Amini and another one comprised of lawyers and independent representatives to study the recent developments in Iran, the Islamic Republic “considers the creation of any new mechanism for probing issues of the past two months as unnecessary and a violation of the country’s national sovereignty and will not recognize the assigned mission,” it concluded.
The rioters have been going on a rampage in the country, attacking security officers, resorting to vandalism against public property, and desecrating religious sanctities.
Earlier in the month, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said the United States and the United Kingdom were “directly” involved in the recent riots, adding that dozens of terrorists affiliated with the Zionist regime and anti-revolution groups have also been detained in the unrest.