TEHRAN - An Iranian legislator has stressed that the West's latest rhetorical assaults against Iran over alleged human rights violations are intended to torpedo the talks to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi, a member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said that Western bloc, including the U.S., raise concerns about human rights while smashing the worst records in terms of global human rights.

He pointed out that the Western countries tried to impose their own demands on Iran by introducing restrictions on Iran’s nuclear and missile advancements and that is why the nuclear talks did not produce good results for them.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) are used to further their influence over Iran, he argued, and sanctions are also used to exert pressure on Iranian officials. As a result, Jahanabadi said, they pursue a three-stage plan to replace the nuclear issues with human rights claims.

The IAEA Board of Governors and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted resolutions against Iran on November 18 and November 24 respectively. Iran says both resolutions were politically motivated.

‘History of human rights violations’

Pointing to the Western hypocrisy toward human rights, MP Jahanabadi said the West has “a history of violating human rights and supporting regimes like the Zionist regime, which has a history of occupying lands, killing women and children, torturing men, as well as carrying out illegal and covert atomic activities.”

He proceeded by stating that the West uses its media empire to highlight minor errors or vulnerabilities by the Islamic Republic while downplaying its own crimes in order to use them as a “weapon” against the Islamic system.

The West pushed for the UN human rights resolution against Iran in an effort to tarnish Iran’s image in the world, the legislator said, adding the nation's diplomatic capabilities should be used effectively to enlighten authorities and regular people throughout the world about the Islamic Republic's positions.