Iran Will Not Cooperate With UN Fact-Finding Mission

Iran will not cooperate with the “politicized fact-finding mission” that the United Nations Human Rights Council has agreed to create with the aim of probing the Islamic Republic’s alleged crackdown on protesters, a senior diplomat said. 
“Hasty and instrumental use of human rights mechanisms with a political approach is rejected and will not help promote the concept of human rights and its related structures,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said at a regular press briefing on Monday, ISNA reported. 
He added that Iran has set up a national committee comprising of experts, jurists and officials and unofficial agents for the case, which indicates the country’s commitment to its national responsibilities. 
“We are responsibly performing our duties and conducting thorough investigations in this regard,” he said, adding that the committee’s findings would be transparently publicized.
The UN Human Rights Council called a special session at the request of a group of members led by Germany and Iceland last week to discuss the turbulent situation in Iran and voted to create an international fact-finding mission to probe the claimed violations of human rights. 
The Iranian Foreign Ministry denounced the resolution in a statement, describing the move as a “strategic mistake”. 
It stressed that creation of any new mechanism to review the issues of the past two months in Iran is “unnecessary and a violation of the country’s sovereignty,” adding that the Islamic Republic would not recognize such probing mission. 
Iranian cities have been experiencing unrest since the death of a young girl in police custody in September, which later developed into violent clashes between rioters and security forces.
Tehran blames the West for abusing the situation to provoke violence and pave the way for terrorist actions to advance their own political agenda. 
Iran’s top intelligence bodies have issued a joint statement pointing to the major role of foreign intelligence agencies, especially the CIA, in orchestrating the violent riots in Iran.
Kanaani said there is precise information about the involvement of western governments, particularly the United States and its allies, in provoking and fueling the turmoil in the country. 
The information includes the organized role of certain foreign nationals who have been arrested in different disguises in Iran, according to the diplomat. 
He said the data has been communicated to the diplomatic representatives of these countries, and to the Swiss embassy which represents US interests in Iran, as well as to the authorities of those governments through Iranian ambassadors.  

Shameful Hypocrisy 

Asked about Iran’s reaction in the event that the UNHRC refers Iran’s case to the UN Security Council, Kanaani said the Islamic Republic would use all its diplomatic and legal capacities to protect its national interests.  
“We will respond to any unconstructive measures by the other sides,” he added. 
He also advised countries which could potentially sponsor such a move to avoid trying what has been already tried. 
“I advise them to act tactfully and wisely … they need to know that they would not achieve what they desire,” he said. 
Kanaani, who attended the press conference with a chemical mask in a symbolic gesture, also criticized Germany for making human rights accusations against Iran and sponsoring a UNHRC resolution, highlighting its dark history of rights violation during Iran’s eight-year war with Iraq (1980-88). 
“During the war, a number of western countries, including the German government, provided [former Iraqi dictator] Saddam [Hussein] with chemical weapons, which he used against the Iranian nation,” he said. 
“Their hypocrisy is obvious and shameful.” 

Lack of Independence 

Germany has also said it agrees with the US in shifting its focus away from reviving the 2015 nuclear deal in favor of support for Iranians against the alleged crackdown. 
Since April 2015, Tehran and Washington have been engaged in indirect talks to restore the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for sanctions relief. 
The JCPOA has been unravelling since the US pulled out and reimposed tough sanctions, prompting Iran to row back on its commitments. 
While negotiations have been stalled for months, US officials say it is no longer on top of Washington’s agenda and Germany has recently echoed the view. 
Kanaani called attention to European countries’ failure to protect Iran’s JCPOA interests when the US abandoned the deal, saying they suffered “inaction and lack of independence of decision-making.”
“In recent rounds of negotiations, Europe showed that it is dominated by the US government’s political approach and, unfortunately, we can’t say Europe is playing an independent role,” he said. 
He also said Americans deny interest in reviving the deal in their statements, but keep sending messages in practice. 
Kanaani reiterated Tehran’s commitment to the diplomatic framework as the best course of action which can guarantee all sides’ interests.