Iran on Saturday dismissed US allegations of human rights abuses as "biased" and "politically motivated", chiding Washington for the failure to improve its own human rights record. In releasing the US State Department’s global human rights report for 2017 on Friday, acting secretary of state John Sullivan labeled Iran, China, Russia and North Korea as "forces of instability" and "morally reprehensible" governments that it claimed violated human rights within their borders on a daily basis, Reuters reported.
"The Islamic Republic regards the annual report of the state department, particularly the claims about human rights, as totally biased and politically motivated," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said in a statement carried by IRNA.
Misrepresentation
He said the report presented a "distorted" and "unrealistic" image of the conditions in Iran, adding it is the US that has made no progress on respecting human rights.
"The US government, as stated in credible international reports, is not only known as one of the world's biggest violators of human rights but is also playing a major role in supporting notorious human rights violators, including the Zionist regime and some reactionary (Arab) states in the region."
In February, human rights group Amnesty International accused US President Donald Trump of "hateful" politics and of being a threat to human rights.
"President Trump takes actions that violate human rights at home and abroad," the London-based group said, according to BBC.
Qasemi urged American officials to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, saying they should take the steps necessary to prevent severe rights abuses inside US borders and also condemn "widespread" violations of human rights by their allies.
