‘US Raising Anti-Iran Accusations to Cover Up Own Crimes’

Iranian lawmaker Mohammad Ali Pourmokhtar said trafficking of women and children in various countries is a lucrative business for the United States.

In reaction to adding Iran to the list of the countries that refuse to fight against human trafficking, the member of Iranian Parliament’s Judicial and Legal Commission said the Islamic Republic believes human trafficking must absolutely be banned, and Tehran adheres to it in practice.

“Unfortunately, some of the neighbouring countries have been involved in trafficking and have created social and economic problems for us,” he said in a Farsi interview with ICANA.

Pourmokhtar also noted that despite its strenuous efforts into human trafficking, Iran has been one of the victims of this crime. Many Iranian police forces and border guards have fallen victim to the fight against human trafficking.

“The United States cannot claim it is fighting against human trafficking or terrorism, because it trains the terrorists itself. So with these accusations, they want to put more pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said the lawmaker.

“The International Monetary Fund or any other international organization will not pay attention to the United States’ request to restrict Iran because such biased reports are to put pressure on the Islamic Republic and these institutions do not pay attention to them.”

The White House said last week it had ordered that Iran, Venezuela and four African nations be added to a US list of countries accused of failing to crack down on human trafficking.

In addition, President Donald Trump’s administration instructed the US executive director of the International Monetary Fund and other multilateral development banks to vote against extending loans or other funds to North Korea, Russia and Iran for fiscal year 2018.