Zarif’s trip to Italy was canceled because of Iran protests

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will no longer attend the Mediterranean Dialogues forum in Rome this Friday, according to Italy’s Adnkronos news agency, possibly because of the ongoing Iran uprising that is disrupting the country and the regime’s record of human rights violations.

Shahin Gobadi, press spokesman of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) commented on the cancellation of Zarif’s trip to Rome, saying that Zarif called off the trip because he fears international outrage over the regime’s crimes against humanity in the current protests.

Gobadi said:

“Zarif is the chief apologist of the religious dictatorship ruling in Iran in the international arena. He called off his trip in fear of the expression of outrage on the international level over the regime’s crimes. During the November nationwide uprising in Iran, at least 750 protesters were confirmed killed by the repressive forces, according to the network of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) inside the country. The actual number of victims is much higher. At least 12,000 protesters were arrested and more than 4,000 wounded. Subsequent to partial opening of the Internet in Iran, more details of the crimes perpetrated by the regime against the defenseless protesters are coming to light.”

He then explained that these protests were a “turning point” in the people’s fight for freedom and readdressed the balance of power. He said that the regime can’t control the situation and shows his paranoia.

Gobadi continued:

“Javad Zarif and all of the officials of the regime must be held accountable for crimes against humanity. Any invitation to these criminals amounts to complicity in the crimes perpetrated by this regime. The mullahs’ regime must be banished by the international community.”

Meanwhile, the Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU) has written to Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, saying that the crackdown and the decision to triple fuel prices that sparked the uprising, shows that the regime is in the midst of an economic and social crisis.

The letter read:

“Just in the first five days of protests, more than 200 protesters have been killed by the Basij militia and other repressive forces in cities such as Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, and Khorramshahr. Reports also indicate thousands of people have been injured or arrested. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps opened fire on peaceful protesters, who courageously called the authoritarian regime responsible not only for the economic collapse of a country that is among the largest oil producers in the world but also for systematic violations of human rights, of grave corruption and violations of women and ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities.”

They continued with the thought that Italy should condemn the “bloody repression of demonstrations by the Iranian regime” and “the blatant violation [of] civil liberties that the regime is obligated to adhere to by international law”, as France and the United States have already done.