As the United States plans a meeting of the United Nations Security Council over the turmoil that erupted after 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini died in morality police custody last month, Tehran and Washington are at odds once more following weeks of protests in Iran.
According to Reuters and Iranian official media, the US and Albania, another staunch opponent of the Iranian government, will hold an informal UNSC meeting on Wednesday.
Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian activist and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and Nazanin Boniadi, an anti-establishment activist and actress who was born in Iran, will also speak at the gathering, along with UN investigator on Iranian human rights Javaid Rehman, according to Reuters. The summit may also be attended by human rights organizations and other UN member nations.
Iran’s government website, IRNA, quoted unnamed “diplomatic sources” on Saturday as saying Washington is organizing the meeting in response to a rare joint report late Friday by Iran’s intelligence ministry and the intelligence branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the US as the main culprit behind the protests.
“Rather than responding to the points raised in the Iranian intelligence community, the US is fleeing forward and showing selective support for human rights with specific political objectives,” the source was quoted as saying.
