Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi says the US uses human rights as a means to serve its own interests.
In a meeting with Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine in Tehran on Thursday, Raeisi said the United States and Western countries have a dark record of looting the resources and assets of nations while chanting slogans claiming to defend human rights and establish security.
“The ongoing situation in Gaza and what is happening to its oppressed people reveal the true nature of these countries that claim [to advocate human rights] and shows that the lives of humans have no value for them,” he added.
Israel started its relentless bombardment of Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying regime.
The regime’s staunchest ally, the United States, which has been providing the war with unwavering military and political support, only sufficed to deplore the attack, saying the protected nature of UN facilities had to be respected.
Around 25,700 Palestinians, some 70 percent of whom are women, children, and adolescents, have been killed in the brutal onslaught so far.
Elsewhere in the meeting, Raeisi said Iran enjoys good ties with African countries, particularly Niger, which are beyond merely political and diplomatic relations.
No obstacle can hinder the development of ties between Iran and Niger, the president said, expressing Tehran’s readiness to exchange capacities with Niamey in various fields, particularly in the energy, industry and mining sectors as well as the export of technical engineering services.
He hailed the Niger people’s major steps in the path of achieving independence and freedom, and expressed confidence that they would face a very bright future.
The Niger’s prime minister, for his part, said Iran plays a leading role in regional and international equations.
Zeine added that the Iranian and Nigerien people share views in religious principles, independence seeking and demand for rights.
Niger regards Iran as a friend and reliable partner due to commonalities between the two countries, he noted.
The prime minister emphasized that Niger is keen to expand relations with Iran in different sectors.
