TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Saturday that the U.S. government is not in a position to make judgments on the situation of human rights in other countries.

The U.S. State Department released its annual report on human rights around the world on Friday.

Qassemi said given its “dark record” in regard to human rights at home and abroad the U.S. cannot make comments on the other countries’ human rights situation. 

He noted that no international body has permitted the U.S. government to study about human rights situation in other countries.

The U.S. government has no right to judge the human rights situation “unilaterally” and “politically”, he added.

Qassemi cited the U.S. visa ban for seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, as an example of human rights violation.

The U.S. government does not also respect national sovereignty of other countries and violates human rights in those countries, the ministry spokesman noted.

The U.S. government is seeking to divert public opinion from its violation of human rights its support for allies in the Middle East who are committing crimes, the Foreign Ministry official said in an open reference to the Washington-backed Saudi attacks on Yemen.

NA/PA