US Meddlesome Policies Spreading Human Trafficking Networks: Iran

“We reject the biased and politically-motivated report which has levelled baseless and unrealistic allegations against some countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran by using unreliable sources and inaccurate information,” Qassemi said in a statement on Monday.

“The US government is attempting to divert attention of the world's public opinion from its meddlesome and destabilizing policies, which have seriously provided the grounds for the formation and spread of organized human Trafficking networks around the globe, especially in West Asia and Africa,” he added.

Qassemi further pointed to the increasing international concern about human trafficking, especially in connection with trafficking of women and children, saying, the “unilateral measures” by the US regarding organized crimes, including the country’s biased reports against independent countries, not only constitute a violation of international norms, but also undermine international efforts to combat these crimes.

In its annual report titled “Trafficking in Persons Report 2018”, the US state department claimed that Iran “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so.”

It also asserted that the Iranian government and the IRGC “coerce male Afghan migrants, including boys as young as 12, to fight in Syria in IRGC-organized and commanded militias, by threatening them with arrest and deportation to Afghanistan.”

The allegations come despite the fact that Iran’s Constitution has one of the most progressive laws with regard to human dignity based on Islamic teachings and that the country’s parliament has passed a law on fighting human trafficking in all its forms.