HCHR- Kazem Gharibabadi, the deputy chief of the Iranian Judiciary and secretary of the High Council for Human Rights, made the remarks in a Monday meeting with Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East Mar Awa Royel.
Gharibabadi pointed out that the Iranian people are victims of terrorism as 17,000 people have lost their lives in terrorist attacks across the country.
“Three years ago, the Americans overtly assassinated [General] Qassem Soleimani, the greatest commander in the fight against terrorism,” he said.
“While Western countries have turned into a safe haven for terrorist groups, they accuse Iran of supporting terrorist groups.”
He hastened to add that the concept of human rights is rooted in monotheistic religions, yet Western countries exploit such concepts to impose their lifestyle on other countries.
Referring to the cruel Western sanctions targeting the Iranian nation, Gharibabadi said Iran is an independent country that has not invaded any country or violated the rights of other countries, but Western countries have committed gross human rights violations by imposing unilateral sanctions against Iranians.
Elsewhere in his comments, the top rights official said religious minorities in Iran enjoy “special rights” and are well-represented in the parliament.
“According to the latest statistics, there are about 400 churches for Christians in Iran, most of which are active, while it is almost impossible to build a mosque in countries that claim to champion human rights,” he said.
He went on to say that the followers of divine religions, along with Muslims, indeed constitute a majority in Iran, arguing that they are not regarded as religious minorities in the country.
Royel said for his part that both Islam and Christianity emphasize human dignity and human rights.
He said Assyrians are the loyal children of Iran.
Today, the terms human rights and freedom are not understood correctly in international forums, but we believe that in the theology and philosophy of the religion of Christ, freedom brings us closer to God not away from Him, he said.
This freedom is defined incorrectly in Western countries, and it is defined as avoiding God, he added.