FM Spokesman blasts US claims against Iran’s religious freedom

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi called the US annual report on religious freedom as clear interference in other countries' internal affairs, saying that the report shows the ignorance on the rights of religious minorities in Iran.

“The report includes unfounded claims about Iran, especially the Jews’ situation in country, which is not true about any of the legal and official religions in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Abbas Mousavi said

“Such flagrant meddling in the internal affairs of countries and the publication of superficial reports against them occur while millions of poor US people in different cities are below the poverty line and denied their basic rights and services and medical care,” Mousavi added, noting that after the spread of coronavirus, the situation in the US has got disastrous dimensions and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of American citizens.

“Iran has always respected rights of religious minorities within the framework of the Constitution and they enjoy all citizenship rights, particularly political participation in the country's affairs, as well as performing their religious rituals,” he further said.

In relevant remarks on April 30, 2019, Mousavi blasted the US for raising human rights allegations against Tehran, reminding Washington of its dark human rights record.

US State Department's Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus had said that her country condemns what she called as "the Iranian regime’s crackdown on women’s rights advocates".

Mousavi lashed out at her remarks, saying that respecting human rights is necessary for all countries.

"But the US with its dark record of human rights in and outside the US is necessitated to rapidly review" its measures and records in human rights.

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