TEHRAN- Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has said the countries that have trampled the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people for decades and actively backed the Zionist regime's aggressions against Palestinians are not morally in a position to make statements about human rights.

Bagheri Kani made the remarks in a meeting in Dhaka on Thursday with Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen.

The comments by Bagheri Kani comes as the West has been heavily criticizing Iran for handling the recent riots, which led to the death of a number of security personnel and ordinary citizens. 

Bagheri Kani said the Western countries “lack the legitimacy and competence to speak on human rights since they have repeatedly violated the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people and have vigorously backed and will continue to support the Zionist regime's actions of aggression and occupation." 

To forcefully evict the Palestinians from their lands and create room for settlement construction, Israeli soldiers and settlers have increased violence against Palestinian people in the West Bank and other occupied regions.

In the West Bank, East Al-Quds, and the besieged Gaza Strip, Israeli forces have murdered more than 220 Palestinians, including more than 50 children, throughout the course of 2022. 

According to the UN, this year has seen the largest number of Palestinians killed by Israel in the West Bank in the previous 16 years.

Iran and Bangladesh seek to enhance political and economic ties

Bagheri Kani and Foreign Secretary Bin Momen also led the Iranian Bangladeshi teams to the second round of foreign office meetings.

Given their strong ties, Iran and Bangladesh have decided to put more effort into enhancing their political, economic, and cultural ties.

Participants at the conference decided to hold the joint economic commission meeting and improve parliamentary cooperation.

Iranian and Bangladeshi commercial delegations decided to expand their economic relations, notably in the areas of mining and industry.

Momen and Bagheri Kani also discussed recent regional and international issues.

In the meantime, Bagheri Kani and Shahriar Alam, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, discussed bilateral cooperation during their meeting.

They emphasized the need to expand cooperation within regional and global contexts, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the parliaments of OIC members.

On the first day of his official visit to Bangladesh, Bagheri Kani also had a meeting with Muhammad Faruk Khan, the head of the Parliament's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.

They talked about the exchange of parliamentary delegations, which would include the leaders of the two parliaments, as well as parliamentary friendship groups and commissions on foreign policy.