NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) announced the first in a series of periodic updates regarding Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s record in office.
As UANI’s Rouhani Accountability Tracker shows, 221 days into his term as President, Rouhani has wholly failed to match his rhetoric with substantive reforms in Iran. This is particularly true when it comes to the human rights situation in Iran, which, according to both the U.S. and UN, has deteriorated to a level even worse than what was seen under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Meanwhile, Iran’s nuclear program continues to advance, its military support for the Assad regime in Syria continues, and the Iranian people are still suffering.
UANI’s Rouhani Accountability Tracker shows that:
Under President Rouhani, the Human Rights Situation in Iran has Worsened.
- Since Rouhani assumed office, the rate of executions in Iran has spiked, to an average of approximately 2.5 per day. Of the more than 525 executions performed on Rouhani’s watch, more than 5% have been performed in public, including gruesome hangings from construction cranes.
- As UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said this week: “The new administration has not made any significant improvement in the promotion and protection of freedom of expression and opinion, despite pledges made by the president during his campaign and after his swearing in… The new government has not changed its approach regarding the application of the death penalty and seems to have followed the practice of previous administrations…”
- The State Department’s annual report on human rights shows an increase in human rights violations under Rouhani.
Under President Rouhani, Iran Continues to Develop its Nuclear Program and Hold a Hardline in Negotiations, as Well as Stonewall Nuclear Inspectors.
- This week, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Ravanchi said Iran is in no hurry to address outstanding concerns about the possible military dimensions of its nuclear program— questions which it is obligated to answer.
- Last week, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran would not close its Arak heavy water reactor of dismantle any part of its nuclear program: “We’re not going to close it. We’re not going to dismantle it. We’re not going to close or dismantle anything, that is our red line.”
- Satellite imagery shows that Iran has renewed its activities at the Parchin military complex, following a long lull. Despite the IAEA’s repeated demands for access to the facility, it remains off-limits to the inspectors “who suspect it may have once hosted a structure capable of accommodating atomic-relevant detonation experiments, as well as potential work on a ‘neutron initiator’ to trigger nuclear blasts.”
Under President Rouhani, Iran has Continued to Provide Military Support for the Assad Regime in Syria.
- As Reuters reported: “As Syria's war nears the start of its fourth year, Iran has stepped up support on the ground for President Bashar al-Assad, providing elite teams to gather intelligence and train troops.”
- The U.S. Treasury Department recently confirmed that in a perverse double-game, Iran has aided al Qaeda, by allowing it to facilitate the movement of fighters into Syria
Under President Rouhani, the Rampant Level of Anti-Americanism by Regime Officials has Continued.
- Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said last month: “Nothing has changed. The U.S.A. is still the Great Satan in our view.”
- Influential Iranian lawmaker Hossein Naghavi Hosseini, who is the spokesman for the foreign policy committee, recently blamed the U.S. for the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, calling it a U.S. attempt to “sabotage the relationship between Iran and China and South East Asia.”
- Iranian General Seyyed Masoud Jazayeri said this month that U.S.-Israeli allegations that Iran sent a ship carrying rockets to Gaza represent a “filthy media campaign … [that] shows the unremitting falsehood, which is rampant in the culture of liberal democracy and Western-Hebrew propaganda.”
Under President Rouhani, Iran Continues to Threaten Its Neighbors and Destabilize the Region.
- Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Hossein Salami said about Israel: “Today, we can destroy every spot which is under the Zionist regime's control with any volume of fire power (that we want) right from here … our hands will remain on the trigger from 1,400km away for the day when such an incident (confrontation with Israel) takes place.”
- Iranian-backed militant groups are helping to fuel a resurgence in Iraqi sectarian violence.
Click here
to view UANI’s resource on “Rouhani’s Record in Office.”
Click here
to view UANI’s Rouhani Accountability Tracker.
Click here
to view UANI’s Geneva Interim Agreement Tracker.
