Iran: US acting as military dictatorship in Middle East

Iran rejected Western accusations of human rights abuse in Islamic Republic describing the accusations as being politically-motivated.

"Iran is becoming one of the prominent democratic states in the region," Mohammad Larijani, the secretary general of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, told the UN Human Rights Council on Monday. Larijani declared that free speech and justice are guaranteed in the democratic Islamic Republic.

Western powers have accused Tehran of having waged "bloody repression" after its June 2009 presidential election.

Larijani refuted the allegations and said the country has been in full compliance with its international commitments to safeguard human rights. He then accused the West of using the issue as a political tool to apply pressure on Iran, adding that some Western governments support anti-Iran terrorist groups.

"With the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the situation of human rights has consistently been used as a political tool to apply pressure against us and to advance certain ulterior political motives by certain Western countries," Larijani said.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said, in response to comments made by Clinton, that the US is acting as a military dictatorship in the Middle East by killing countless number of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had accused Iran of "moving toward a military dictatorship".

Mottaki described Clinton's remarks as "modern deceit," adding that Iran is
"regretful that the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... tries to conceal facts about the stance of the US administration trough fake words.

The Iranian minister raised questions about the US military dictatorship in the region and said that Washington has killed large numbers of Iraqi and Afghan civilians while Iran has accepted and helped millions of refugees from the two countries.

Mottaki further criticized "unsuccessful strategies" of the US government in Lebanon, Gaza and Afghanistan and said Washington seeks to create crisis for democratic and independent states by waging a soft war.

He underlined that the US has adopted "wrong" approach in the Middle East and said that Washington pays no attention to realities in the region and forges military dictatorship by stoking tension and instability.

"We advise Clinton and other US statesmen to open their eyes to realities in the region for once... They should respect the rights of regional states to development, welfare and modern technologies," Mottaki said, noting that regional countries would never be deceived by the US policies.