So-called advocates of Iranians’ rights need to lift inhumane sanctions: Iran FM
Iran has slated the US and some of its European allies for their support of recent deadly riots in the country, saying they have always adopted hypocritical approaches and double standards.
In an Instagram post on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said the so-called advocates of Iranian people’s rights should abandon their empty slogans and end decades of sanctions against the Iranian nation.
“American and European political leaders, their news agencies, and Persian-language media outlets supported by the West have exploited the tragic incident of the death of a young woman and backed rioters and disruptors of the country’s national security under the motto of supporting the rights of the Iranian nation,” Kan’ani wrote.
“They left no stone unturned in this regard. However, they either took no notice of or belittled the presence of millions of people on the streets and squares of the country in support of the establishment and their country and in strong opposition to chaos.”
He further said there is no doubt that the enemies’ hybrid and psychological war against the Iranian nation will be recorded in history along with hundreds of cases of their disgraceful failures.
“It is better for those who claim to be advocating the rights of the Iranian nation to give up their bogus slogans and put an end to several decades of cruel and inhumane sanctions against the Iranian nation,” Kan’ani added.
Protests have broken out in several Iranian cities over the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman who died in a hospital a few days after collapsing at a police station in the capital Tehran, where she and a group of others were receiving educational training on dress code rules.
Despite Iranian officials’ clarification on the circumstances surrounding Amini’s death, violent street protests have led to attacks on security officers and acts of vandalism against public property and sanctities.
Speaking on Friday, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the riots that followed Amini’s death had nothing to do with the tragic event, stating that rabble-rousers were exploiting the issue to instigate chaos and wreak havoc across the country.
Last week, Iranian police released CCTV footage showing Amini collapsing in the police station. The video debunked claims that she was beaten up by police forces.
