Iran's Reaction to US Report on Religious Freedom: 'Unsubstantiated, Exaggerated, and Unconstructive'

The spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry described the annual report by the US State Department on the status of religious freedom in the Islamic Republic as 'repetitive, unsubstantiated, unrealistic, exaggerated, and unconstructive,' stating that the report was drafted 'based on political motives.' According to the state news agency IRNA, Bahram Qasemi on Saturday, August 13, referred to the contents of the report as 'repetitive and unsubstantiated claims' that have been drafted and published 'based on enmity and political motives.' He emphasized that Iran condemns any 'political exploitation under the pretext of human rights' against 'independent' countries, which is conducted 'in the interest of certain powers.' Qasemi also pointed to UN reports regarding what he termed 'widespread violations of the rights of religious minorities in the US, especially Muslims,' adding that the US government should 'focus on the blatant violations of the rights of its own Muslims instead of admonishing other countries.' The US State Department published its annual report on religious freedoms worldwide on Wednesday, August 10, which, as in previous years, emphasized the continued restrictions imposed on religious minorities in various countries, including Iran. The US government report, citing the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, states that by the end of the last calendar year, at least 380 members of religious minorities were imprisoned in the Islamic Republic, including about 250 Sunni Muslims, 82 Baha'is, 26 Christian converts, 16 Sufis, and two Zoroastrians. The US State Department also reported that representatives of the Baha'i faith stated that the Iranian government continues to prevent Baha'i religious gatherings and the normal activities of their institutions, harasses Baha'i believers, and does not recognize their ownership of properties. Nevertheless, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry claimed that the Islamic Republic recognizes the rights of religious minorities 'based on its constitution' and that 'all Iranian citizens are equal in enjoying their basic rights under the law.' The US Commission on International Religious Freedom had also stated in its annual report in May that the status of religious freedom in Iran has 'worsened.'