Today PEN America and the Center for Human Rights in Iran, along with a coalition of human rights organizations, sent a joint letter to President Biden asking his administration to ensure that human rights concerns are at the center of US foreign policy towards Tehran.
“Efforts to seek improvements in Iran’s egregious human rights record should take place parallel to negotiations on security matters, recognizing fully that US national security interests cannot be met if the human security of the Iranian people is left unaddressed,” the letter reads.
Washington and Tehran could return to compliance with an Obama-era nuclear deal within weeks, a senior Biden administration official said last week.
The official added that the final decision is in the hand of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The senior State Department official, who talked to reporters on the condition of anonymity, said that the last three rounds have helped to "crystallize" what both nations need to do to return to mutual compliance.
The letter by watchdog organizations to the Biden administration said that “The US should make clear that focused, persistent attention to human rights will be a key component of US foreign policy toward Iran. Improvements in freedom of expression and other human rights are fundamental to strengthening the Iranian government’s accountability to its citizens and at the international level.”
The organizations call on the Biden-Harris administration to take concrete steps that would demonstrate the US’s commitment to supporting free expression and human rights as a key component of diplomatic engagement with Iran.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday he was optimistic over talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and said the West has no other choice but to lift the international sanctions against Iran, state media reported.
“We’ve reached a point where the Americans and the Europeans are saying openly they have no choice but to lift sanctions and return to the (nuclear deal), and that almost all main sanctions have been lifted and talks continue on some details,” Rouhani was quoted by state media as saying. He did not elaborate.
Only the details remained to be agreed, Rouhani said.
However, there was no immediate confirmation from US officials or from the other parties to the accord.
