In a post on his X account on Friday, Baqaei denounced the use of the UN Human Rights Council’s mandate on Iran, imposed at the initiative of the UK, to shift responsibility for the consequences of US and Israeli actions onto the Islamic Republic.
“Regardless of the politically motivated nature of the mandate imposed on the Human Rights Council by the UK, exploiting the so-called Special Rapporteurship on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran to blame Iran for the crimes committed by the US and Israel amounts to nothing less than a deliberate attempt to whitewash aggression, atrocities, and unilateral coercive measures,” he wrote.
“Such an approach is deeply misleading and profoundly disingenuous,” Baqaei added.
The message followed the presentation of a report by Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. In her assessment, Sato said the US-Israeli military campaigns had further worsened the hardships facing Iranians, while alleging that the Iranian government had taken advantage of the situation to step up restrictions on dissent, including through detentions and executions.
Iran has repeatedly challenged the legitimacy of the UN rapporteur’s mandate, arguing that it is driven by political considerations and serves as a means for Western countries to exert pressure on Tehran. Iranian officials have also criticized the mechanism for overlooking the human rights impact of sanctions, military threats and acts of aggression against the country.