US Criticizes Violations of Religious Minorities’ Rights in Iran
The US Vice President on Thursday, referring to violations of the rights of religious minorities by the Islamic Republic, encouraged the people of Iran to move forward on the path of freedom and peace. Earlier, the US Secretary of State had also criticized the harassment of religious minorities in Iran.
Mike Pence, Donald Trump’s Vice President, on July 25 at a State Department meeting on “advancing religious freedom,” called the Islamic Republic “the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism” and said: “The people of Iran do not enjoy many freedoms, if they have any freedom at all, the least of which is religious freedom.”
Mr. Pence, speaking to representatives of 80 countries in Washington, while emphasizing violations of the rights of religious minorities in Iran, said that religious minorities in Iran are imprisoned, harassed, and in some cases killed. In this regard, he stated that in 2016 the Islamic Republic executed 20 Kurdish citizens on charges of moharebeh (waging war against God).
The US Vice President further added: “The people of the United States have a message for the suffering people of Iran: know that we are with you, even as you stand against the threats and malicious actions of your leaders in Tehran. We pray for you and we encourage you good people of Iran to courageously continue on your path toward a free and peaceful future.”
These remarks came two days after Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, had also criticized the situation of religious minorities in Iran.
Mr. Pompeo on July 24 in an article published on the American website “USA Today,” began his piece by referring to the execution of Mohammad Taha, a Gonabadi Dervish, and emphasized that religious minorities are not tolerated by the Islamic Republic.
While referring to the harassment of minorities particularly in Iran and China, he added that this approach must end and called for universal participation in this regard.
The US Secretary of State had also expressed these same remarks about religious minorities in Iran on July 23 in a gathering of Iranians residing in California.
The US State Department also expressed concern in its annual report on religious freedom in June of this year about the situation of religious minorities in Iran and criticized the persecution of Evangelical Christians and Bahá’ís in Iran.
At that time, Iran’s Foreign Ministry had called the report “political, unrealistic, and rejected.”
Source: Radio Farda
