Iran rejects US human trafficking report as baseless

EghtesadOnline: Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi has rejected as "baseless" a recent US report linking Tehran to human trafficking.

News ID: ۷۷۹۶۰۹

07 October 2017

On Wednesday, Qassemi stressed that the report had been compiled with “invalid information and baseless accusations” against Iran.

According to PressTV, he added that the US is using such pretexts to try to divert public opinion away from its own shortcomings in relation to dealing with human trafficking.

“This is why we totally reject the US’ move to compile false and untrue reports on human trafficking and its accusations against other independent countries,” he added.

Qassemi stressed that Iran is and always will staunchly oppose human trafficking, especially that of women and children.

“Washington’s interventionist and destabilizing policies throughout the world, especially in Western Asia and Africa, have paved the way for the appearance of transnational criminal gangs which actively engage in human trafficking,” he said.

At the end of last month, the US added Iran and Venezuela to a list of countries it accuses of failing to fight human trafficking.

On Saturday, the White House announced that along with Iran and Venezuela, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan and Sudan will be added to the list of the countries subject to restrictions for the fiscal year 2018.

The US allegations come despite the fact that Iran’s Constitution has one of the most progressive laws with regard to human dignity based on Islamic teachings. The country’s parliament has also passed a law on fighting human trafficking in all its forms.