He added that physical and psychological damages “inflicted on each individual of the Iranian nation in the 2nd and 3rd imposed wars, from child killings and war crimes in Minab and Lamerd to attacks on medical centres, is each a legal file that must be pursued in both domestic and international courts.”
He further stated that from the “murder” of newborns and the elderly to the assassination of his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “each is a file among thousands of major legal cases that must be earnestly pursued in domestic and international courts”.
“What is definite is that these criminals must be seized by the collar and brought to justice for their criminal deeds,” he asserted.
Never in my life could I have expected to agree with the Iranian government. But, on this specific issue? I do. There needs to be accountability for this.
I’ll be the first to accept that Iran, just like Cuba and any other country under long term sanctions from the US for refusing to kowtow to US demands, is essentially crippled from the start and unable to function as well as they could have without that ongoing interference. However, that doesn’t negate things that they’ve done on their own, like harsh repression of protests or that lady who was sentenced to being whipped for singing a song without wearing a hijab the other day.
I’m basically saying that my view of him is like my view of whoever wound up being Putin’s handpicked successor would be. I find them suspect by virtue of passing the screening process to even wind up in that position to begin with, and that will only change if they start taking actions that are at odds with their predecessors’ once in power. If his other positions turn out to be even half as good as his stance against Israel and the US in the current war on Iran has been, I will be happy to realize that my suspicions were unfounded. At the same time, just because they’re in the right on this specific topic doesn’t mean they are flawless in other aspects. Like, the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church was surprisingly progressive for civil rights for African Americans for a white guy in Kansas in the 1960s, but you won’t catch me singing Fred Phelps’ praises in light of all the other heinous stuff he’s done in his life.