Iran’s Deputy FM Criticizes US for Double Standards on Human Rights in Israel-Palestine Context

In a post on X on Saturday, Gharibabadi referenced reports about a US federal court temporarily suspending sanctions imposed on Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Albanese was sanctioned by the US in July 2025 after publicly criticizing Washington’s policies regarding Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

“Human rights in the US lexicon are respected only until they reach the Israeli regime,” the Iranian diplomat wrote. “Whenever accountability for the regime and its supporters over the crimes in Gaza is raised, Washington resorts to sanctions, threats and intimidation instead of defending the law.”

He added that sanctioning a UN special rapporteur seeking accountability through the International Criminal Court exposes “the true face of US human rights policy: human rights for enemies, immunity for allies.”

Gharibabadi further argued that the US approach reflects “the same double standard that has for years held international justice hostage to Washington’s political interests.”

“The US cannot simultaneously speak of a rules-based order while targeting every institution, expert, or mechanism that examines the crimes of the Israeli regime with pressure,” he said.

“If international law is only valid as long as it does not touch US allies, then it is no longer law; it is a tool of domination,” he added, emphasizing that the independence of UN missions and the rights of Palestinian victims to “truth and justice” must not be sacrificed to shield Israel from accountability.