US lawmakers urge Biden to press Iran on human rights, state-sponsored ‘terrorism’
SMA NEWS – WASHINGTON
More than 100 Democratic and Republican House lawmakers have called on President Joe Biden to hold the Iranian government accountable for human rights violations and its alleged destabilising activities in the Middle East.
In a letter sent to Biden on Thursday, Representatives Brad Sherman and Tom McClintock urged the president to “remain firm” amid his administration’s push to return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
“For the sake of national security, peace, regional stability, and the Iranian people’s desire for freedom, the United States must remain firm in holding the Iranian government accountable both for its nuclear and other destabilizing activities in the region; such as its support for terrorism, development of ballistic missiles, and human rights violations against its own people,” the lawmakers wrote.
The letter corresponded with the introduction of a non legally binding resolution which reaffirmed US support for Iranian civil society.
The resolution, which was co-sponsored by 112 lawmakers, comes days after the conviction of Iranian diplomat Assadolah Assadi, who was found guilty of planning to bomb a meeting of an exiled opposition group near Paris in June 2018.
“The House of Representatives condemns past and present Iranians state-sponsored terrorist attacks against United States citizens and officials, as well as Iranian dissidents, including the Iranian regime’s terror plot against the ‘Free Iran 2018-the Alternative’ gathering in Paris,” the resolution said, according to The Hill.
