The spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry has declared that the U.S. State Department’s statement regarding Zahra Rahnavard, MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi amounts to “interference” in Iran’s domestic affairs.
ISNA reports that Marzieh Afkham told reporters on Saturday February 15: “This statement is interference in Iran’s domestic matters and goes against U.S. commitments under the Algiers Accords.”
She went on to accuse the U.S. of taking advantage of human rights issues as a political tool.
This week, Iranian opposition leaders Zahra Rahnavard, MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi entered their third year of house arrest by the Islamic Republic regime, and the U.S. State Department issued a statement condemning their treatment and calling for their release.
Iranian activists have also called for the release of these political figures; however, the government has made it clear that they will not be released unless they are willing to publicly admit their role in triggering the election protests of 2009, which challenged the legitimacy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory at the polls with allegations of vote fraud, and admit that their actions were wrong.
