The Iran deal: A moral failure

Now that diplomats from around the world have reached a deal regarding Iran’s continuation of its nuclear enrichment efforts, many will lament the missed opportunity to leverage the situation to improve human rights in Iran. A central goal of U.S. foreign policy is the promotion of respect for human rights.

Michael Gordon recently wrote in The New York Times:

“The expected nuclear deal has stoked a heated debate: Will the nuclear agreement be the first step in a long process that will lead to regional cooperation between the United States and Iran and less repression by Tehran? Or will such a deal provide Iran with billions more in funds to pursue an aggressive foreign policy while it represses dissent at home?

“At a minimum, the State Department report indicates how far Iran needs to go to meet the concerns of human rights advocates. Tom Malinowski, the assistant secretary of state for human rights, said there had been no discernible progress on Iran’s record on human rights since Mr. Rouhani became president.”

The Iranian government routinely arrests, tortures, and kills activists, advocates, journalists, and even students who speak out for the purported crime of propaganda against the state. And religious minorities often suffer the most.

Iranian-American Pastor Saeed Abedini is approaching his third year in prison after the Iranian Revolutionary Guard arbitrarily detained him. A judge sentenced Abedini to eight years in prison for having “undermined the Iranian government by creating a network of Christian house churches and … attempting to sway Iranian youth away from Islam.” According to reports, he faces regular beatings and mistreatment in prison from his fellow prisoners because of his Christian faith.

Pastor Abedini is not alone. Iran’s roughly 450,000 Christians face regular, systematic government persecution. Under the regime, only Armenians and Assyrians are allowed to be Christian. Converts from Islam to Christianity are considered apostates and are not allowed to worship with other believers. In 2014 alone, at least 75 Christians were arrested, often facing similar or worse fates than Pastor Abedini.

Iran’s government also persecutes other religious minorities. For decades, the Revolutionary Guard has arbitrarily arrested and detained members of the Baha’i faith. They are not allowed to attend public universities, and some even have been arrested for trying to start their own educational institutions. Iran’s state-sponsored media has increased its dissemination of anti-Baha’i propaganda, producing about 5,000 articles in 2014. According to reports from Baha’is of the United States, more than 100 Baha’is are in Iranian prisons today because of their faith.

In addition to its leader openly and regularly calling for the destruction of Israel, Iran is infamous for its monetary support of actors such as Hezbollah, who have a long history of committing violent acts against Jewish targets around the world. Sadly, reporting requirements on state-sponsored terrorism were removed from the bill that requires congressional approval of the terms of Iran’s nuclear agreement because of fears such requirements would “kill the deal.”

Al Jazeera reported that this is a historic deal that would serve some kind of a reset after decades of mistrust. Where is the reset on human rights?

As diplomats and legislation decide the fate of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, it is essential that we do not forget the fate of those affected by state-sponsored terrorism, which will likely receive a boost from lifted sanctions and increased oil revenues under the deal.

When the Soviet Union waged its campaign against believers and dissenters alike, human rights was a top priority when America came to the bargaining table. Floods of letters and prayers were sent to Natan Sharansky and Andrei Sakharov, who spent years in gulags before constant and concerted efforts by the West eventually led to their release. Remaining silent on the issue of Iran’s human rights record is nothing short of a moral failure. We must raise our collective voice on behalf of those imprisoned, targeted, and otherwise persecuted for their beliefs and demand that our leaders do the same.