Iran says UN rights rapporteur whitewashes US-Israeli crimes

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Friday criticized the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, accusing her of whitewashing crimes committed by the United States and Israel. In a post on X, Baghaei wrote that the mandate imposed on the Human Rights Council by the United Kingdom is politically motivated. He said that exploiting the so-called Special Rapporteurship on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran to blame Iran for crimes committed by the US and Israel amounts to a deliberate attempt to whitewash aggression, atrocities, and unilateral coercive measures. He described such an approach as deeply misleading and profoundly disingenuous.

The statement came in response to the latest report by Mai Sato, the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, which was published on the UN website on October 28. The report, covering February to August 2026, claimed that US-Israeli military strikes have compounded what she described as domestic repression in Iran. Sato presented the report to the UN General Assembly.

Baghaei's remarks reflect Iran's ongoing rejection of the special rapporteur's mandate, which Tehran has consistently described as politically motivated and based on a resolution imposed by the United Kingdom. Iran has repeatedly accused Western countries of using human rights mechanisms to exert political pressure and to deflect attention from their own actions in the region, including military strikes and sanctions.

The exchange highlights continuing tensions between Iran and the United Nations human rights apparatus, as well as Iran's strained relations with the United States and Israel. Tehran has frequently condemned US-Israeli military actions and unilateral sanctions, describing them as violations of international law and as collective punishment of the Iranian people.

According to Mehr News, Baghaei's post on X was published on Friday and directly addressed the special rapporteur's report, calling it a deliberate attempt to whitewash aggression and atrocities. The report by Mehr News added that the special rapporteur's report covered the period from February to August 2026 and was published on the UN website on October 28.