Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
A spokesperson from Iran's foreign ministry has accused the Canadian administration of violating human rights.
Marzieh Afkham, the spokeswoman of the foreign ministry made the remarks while responding to the latest statements by the Canadian foreign minister on "human right abuses" in Iran, the country's Fars news agency reported on May 15.
The Canadian administration is accused of violating human rights, in particular the rights of the native people, Afkham said.
Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said on May 14 that Iran remains the "biggest threat to global peace" as it "oppresses with terror at home and sponsors it abroad."
It would be nice "to believe that Iran is genuinely committed to positive change," he said, but "we do not have the luxury to be naive, nor do the Iranian people, who have suffered for far too long."
"Human rights abuses have worsened under the supposedly more moderate government elected last year in Tehran," Baird said.
Iranian spokeswoman remarked Baird's words are "worthless and without any political logic behind it."
Afkham also named the Canadian administration as "an extremist government" which promotes "Israelis' Iranophobia."
Canada cut diplomatic ties with Tehran in 2012. Baird cited Iran's support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, its disputed nuclear program and continued human rights violations as reasons behind his country's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Tehran.
Earlier The European Parliament expressed concern over the human rights violations in Iran, in a resolution on the EU strategy towards Iran, which passed on April 3.
The resolution criticizes human rights abuses in Iran and calls for a more active role of the EU in addressing the problems related to human rights in the country and supporting civil society.
It also advises EU members to focus on human rights in their ties with the Islamic republic.
In mid-March the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accused Iranian president Hassan Rouhani of not fulfilling campaign promises to allow greater freedom of expression and called for the release of political prisoners in Iran.