U.S. Vows To Hold Iranian Regime Accountable For 'Egregious' Human Rights Violations — State Department

The Biden administration on Friday vowed to hold Iram accountable for what it called "egregious" human rights violations as Tehran reportedly executed a dual Iranian-British national despite an international outcry over his death sentence and those of others held amid nationwide protests.

“The charges against Ali Reza Akbari and his sentencing to execution were politically motivated. His execution would be unconscionable,"  State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told a daily press briefing, criticizing the pending move.

“We are greatly disturbed by the reports that Mr. Akbari was drugged, tortured while in custody, interrogated for thousands of hours, and forced to make false confessions,” he said.

He went on to add, “More broadly, Iran’s practices of arbitrary and unjust detentions, forced confessions, and politically motivated executions are completely unacceptable and must end.”

Asked by TURAN if Washington had any tools in toolkit to stop the Iranian regime's behaviour, Patel said, the administration has taken steps  to hold the Iranian regime accountable, and "we’ll continue to do so through this government but also in close coordination with our allies and partners as well."

Is sanctioning the Islamic Republic's supreme leader for gross human rights violations on the table? Patel refused to respond to this question directly, however said that Washington will "continue to do what we can and do it in close coordination with our allies and partners to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its egregious human rights violations, for its killing of its own people."

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.