Spokesman Dismisses US Anti-Iran Report on Freedom as "Baseless"

Rasa - Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi categorically dismissed as "untrue, baseless and politically-motivated the latest US Department of State's report on the status of religious freedoms in Iran.

News ID: 437997

Date: 01 June 2018 - 23:32

RNA - "Iran regards the recent US report as unrealistic, unfounded and biased, and we believe it has been drawn up to make certain political gains," Qassemi said.

He underlined that in the US Department of State's report once again a distorted and politically-tainted picture is painted of the situation of religious freedoms in the Islamic Republic of Iran as well as baseless accusations which are far from reality and definitely unacceptable,

"Putting forward imaginary, fabricated and groundless interpretations of religions and religious beliefs will finally lead to the further deterioration of interfaith problems, conflicts and crises, and will have no constructive and positive outcome,” Qassemi said added.

He underlined that in a bid to settle religious differences and ensure proximity among religions, it is necessary to seriously avoid politicizing the issue and take steps on this path by relying on dialogue and respect for others’ opinions, and based on lofty human values and respect for the followers of all divine faiths.

"It seems that the US government has forgotten this key objective and only seeks to make political capital out of the religious diversity in some world countries, and it is believed that this country does not have a precise and realistic assessment of the domestic situation of countries, especially their demographic and religious condition,” Qassemi said.

According to Fars News Agancy, Qassemi's remarks came in reaction to the US State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report for 2017, which was released on May 29.

The Iran section of the report claimed that “non-Shia Muslims and those affiliated with a religion other than Islam” residing in the Islamic Republic faced “societal discrimination and harassment.”

Besides Iran, the report also targets Washington’s other foes, including Russia, China and North Korea.

847/940