Western states ‘safe haven’ for terrorist groups: Iran’s rights chief

Iran has dismissed Western-led charges of supporting terrorism, saying that it is the same Western states that have turned into a safe haven for terrorist groups.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Secretary of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, held a meeting with the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Mar Awa III, in Tehran.

During the meeting, he said the Iranian people are victims of terrorism as 17,000 innocent people have lost their lives in terrorist attacks across the country.

Gharibabadi said the West accuses Iran’s of supporting terrorist groups, while the United States overtly assassinated the greatest anti-terror Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani three years ago.

He noted that the concept of human rights is rooted in monotheistic religions, adding that, “Western countries are trying to impose their own lifestyle on other countries, but we believe that it is necessary to respect various cultures.”

The senior Iranian rights official said Islam and other divine religions attach great significance to human dignity.

There are less than 200,000 religious minorities in Iran who enjoy “special rights” and are well-represented in the parliament, he added.

“According to the latest statistics, there are some 400 churches for Christians in Iran, most of them are active, while it is almost impossible to build a mosque in countries that claim to defend human rights,” Gharibabadi said.

He emphasized that the majority of Iranian society consists of followers of religious minorities along with Muslims.

Pointing to the West’s oppressive sanctions against the Iranian nation, he said, “Iran is an independent country which has never attacked any country or violated the rights of any state, but Western countries have committed gross human rights violation by imposing unilateral sanctions against Iranians.”

Freedom defined in West incorrectly: Assyrian patriarch

The Assyrian patriarch, for his part, said human rights and freedom are not correctly comprehended in international circles, explaining that Western states have defined freedom incorrectly as avoiding God.

He added that both Islam and Christianity emphasize human dignity and human rights.

In a Monday meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi, Mar Awa III, commended Iran’s battle against the Daesh terrorist group to protect humanity and faith in Iraq and Syria.

He hailed Iran’s commitment to interfaith dialogue and respect for monotheistic religions.

SS