U.S. State Department spokesperson, Heather Nauert has called on Iran to show tolerance towards religious minorities.
She tweeted on October 29, which is Cyrus Day, asking the Islamic Republic to follow the example of the first Achaemenid king, who is known to have protected the religious freedom of numerous groups and nationalities in his vast empire, around 500 BC.
Over 2000 years ago, Cyrus the Great promoted religious tolerance in Persia. Today, on Cyrus Day, the Iranian regime should learn a few lessons from his leadership and stop persecuting #Bahais, Christian converts, #Gonabadi Dervishes and other minority groups in #Iran.
— Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) October 29, 2018
Although Iran officially recognizes traditional Christian churches, Judaism and the ancient Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism as official minority religions, it persecutes others; such as Baha’is, Moslems who convert to Christianity and Islamic sects, such as Dervishes.
Iran’s Islamic government has been regularly condemned in the past three decades by international organizations and Western governments for its violations of human rights, including persecution of religious minorities.
Commentary by The Iranian
While we don’t dispute the need to call-out Iran’s human rights abuses, it’s clear that there is a US strategy to praise Iran’s rich history as a form of propaganda that is intended to turn Iranians against their leaders and government. With American sanctions making the lives of ordinary Iranians miserable, a travel ban and pulling out of the JCPOA, the US claim to care about the well-being and prosperity of Iranians is both hypocritical and insulting.
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