Iran's human rights situation is worsening, a UN expert said on Monday, pointing to a surge in executions and raising concerns that major negotiations on Tehran's nuclear programme could distract international attention from the abuses.
The UN special rapporteur on Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, hailed "some limited improvements" on the ground in Iran since the 2013 election of President Hassan Rouhani, but warned "the overall situation has worsened."
Speaking to reporters before presenting his latest report on the human rights situation in Iran to the UN Human Rights Council, Shaheed pointed to soaring numbers of executions and the jailing of journalists and activists in the Islamic country.
Iran's ambassador to the UN in Geneva Mohsen Naziri Asl slammed Shaheed's report as "politically motivated", telling the council that the UN expert was "ignoring the positive developments in my country."
Counting the 252 executions in the country since the beginning of this year, Iran has executed more than 1,000 people since January 2014, he said.
Urges moratorium on executions
Shaheed called on Tehran to "declare immediately a moratorium on executions."
Iran is one of the countries in the world that imprisons most journalists, he said.
Many had hoped that the election of Rouhani, regarded as a moderate, would lead to improvements in the human rights situation in Iran.
But Shaheed said the deterioration he had seen may have come because "hardline" elements in the country "want to undermine the president's image as a reformist."
Shaheed's comments came as Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met his US counterpart John Kerry in nearby Lausanne in a race to hammer out an elusive agreement on Tehran's nuclear programme.
"I warmly welcome these efforts, as I share a genuine hope for long-lasting peace and stability with those sitting at the negotiating table," Shaheed said.
But he noted that "there is concern among the Iranian civil society that the nuclear file may be casting a shadow over the human rights discussions."
But he said he himself believed that "if there is improvement in terms of engagement on security issues, there is potential for improvement in other areas as engagement widens."
2 Dead In Israel Stabbing, Palestinian Attacker From West Bank Killed Abraham Alliance vs Axis Of Resistance: Who's Fighting Israel-Iran War As Iran Strike Looms, Israel Hopes For "Abraham Alliance" With US, UK After 60-Km Chase, Parsvnath Landmark CEO Arrested From Delhi Airport Waqf Law Change To Help Women, Say Sources, Warn Of "Dangerous Narrative" Iran Could Attack Israel Today, Netanyahu Eyes Preemptive Strike: Report CBSE Class 10 Supplementary Results To Be Released Soon Nearly 100 Killed In Fierce Clashes In Bangladesh, Curfew Imposed: 10 Facts "Leave Us Alone": Simone Biles Defends Husband After He Wears Her Gold Medal Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.