Iran’s government agreed to meet with technical experts at the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency this week, to discuss the discovery of uranium particles found at three previously undeclared sites in the country.
The decision to meet came as signatories to the nuclear deal, France, Germany and Britain agreed to withdraw a resolution criticizing Tehran for limiting the UN watchdog’s access to its nuclear facilities, set out under the terms of the deal.
The UN and Amnesty International strongly condemned the violence at the Iran-Pakistan border which led to the deaths of at least 12 people, with some estimates placing the death toll at 23 on Friday.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have been accused of using excessive force against fuel carriers from ethnic minorities, as well as protesters. The UN also called on the Iranian government to restore internet access in the region, following disruption to the local network during the violence.
Amnesty International said the killings were unlawful on Tuesday, and called for an independent investigation into the deaths. Amnesty said it had verified footage sent in to the human rights watchdog showing Revolutionary Guards using live ammunition against unarmed fuel porters from Iran’s Baluch community, an impoverished ethnic minority routinely targeted by Iran’s government.
The UN also strongly criticized Iran’s government for its treatment of other ethnic minorities in the country. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said she was concerned about the persistent impunity for human-rights violations enjoyed by Iran’s officials, and said that freedom of expression was continually restricted through legislation, prosecutions and intimidation.
And Iran’s judiciary dismantled the country’s largest independent NGO, following a motion by the Interior Ministry to break up the Imam Ali Popular Students Relief Society.
The motion, which was moved after the society refused to accept a government request to change its internal management structure, was instigated by Iran’s security establishment, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran, which added that longstanding NGOs in the country were increasingly being targeted by Iranian officials.
