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Iran Calls for Int’l Committee to Investigate Human Rights Violations in France

Workers on strike hold CGT labor union flags as they walk on a platform during a demonstration inside the railway station on the eve of the ninth day of national strike and protests, and after the pension reform was adopted as the French Parliament rejected two motions of no-confidence against the government, in Nice, France, March 22, 2023. Éric Gaillard, Reuters
Workers on strike hold CGT labor union flags as they walk on a platform during a demonstration inside the railway station on the eve of the ninth day of national strike and protests, and after the pension reform was adopted as the French Parliament rejected two motions of no-confidence against the government, in Nice, France, March 22, 2023. Éric Gaillard, Reuters
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Iran Calls for Int’l Committee to Investigate Human Rights Violations in France

Workers on strike hold CGT labor union flags as they walk on a platform during a demonstration inside the railway station on the eve of the ninth day of national strike and protests, and after the pension reform was adopted as the French Parliament rejected two motions of no-confidence against the government, in Nice, France, March 22, 2023. Éric Gaillard, Reuters
Workers on strike hold CGT labor union flags as they walk on a platform during a demonstration inside the railway station on the eve of the ninth day of national strike and protests, and after the pension reform was adopted as the French Parliament rejected two motions of no-confidence against the government, in Nice, France, March 22, 2023. Éric Gaillard, Reuters

The spokesman of the Iranian government Ali Bahadori Jahromi called on Monday for the formation of an international research committee for dealing with France’s human rights violations of hundreds of thousands of protesters.

“(French President) Emmanuel Macron's government is directly responsible for widespread violations of human rights and harsh dealing with protesters who simply seek their rights; France must be to account for its actions towards its citizens,” Jahromi said in a post on his Twitter account according to the German news agency.

“The formation of an international fact-finding committee is necessary for dealing with violating the rights of hundreds of thousands of French protesters,” the Iranian spokesman added.

In a related development, the spokesman of the Iranian foreign ministry, Nasser Kanaani, criticized female officials of Europe, Canada and Australia for keeping mum on the French police brutality against protesters, particularly women, during the pension reform rallies.

“Where are Europe, Canada and Australia’s feminist ministers,” Kanaani wrote on his Twitter account on Saturday.

France witnessed last week a wave of nationwide strikes following a government decision to push on with a deeply unpopular pension reform despite escalating anger across the country.

Speaking last Wednesday, Macron stuck to his guns saying the new law was necessary and would come into force later this year.

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Russia Condemns ‘Irresponsible’ Talk of Nuclear Weapons for Ukraine

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia October 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia October 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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Russia Condemns ‘Irresponsible’ Talk of Nuclear Weapons for Ukraine

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia October 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia October 24, 2024. (Reuters)

Discussion in the West about arming Ukraine with nuclear weapons is "absolutely irresponsible", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, in response to a report in the New York Times citing unidentified officials who suggested such a possibility.

The New York Times reported last week that some unidentified Western officials had suggested US President Joe Biden could give Ukraine nuclear weapons before he leaves office.

"Several officials even suggested that Mr. Biden could return nuclear weapons to Ukraine that were taken from it after the fall of the Soviet Union. That would be an instant and enormous deterrent. But such a step would be complicated and have serious implications," the newspaper wrote.

Asked about the report, Peskov told reporters: "These are absolutely irresponsible arguments of people who have a poor understanding of reality and who do not feel a shred of responsibility when making such statements. We also note that all of these statements are anonymous."

Earlier, senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said that if the West supplied nuclear weapons to Ukraine then Moscow could consider such a transfer to be tantamount to an attack on Russia, providing grounds for a nuclear response.

Ukraine inherited nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union after its 1991 collapse, but gave them up under a 1994 agreement, the Budapest Memorandum, in return for security assurances from Russia, the United States and Britain.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last month that as Ukraine had handed over the nuclear weapons, joining NATO was the only way it could deter Russia.

The 33-month Russia-Ukraine war saw escalations on both sides last week, after Ukraine fired US and British missiles into Russia for the first time, with permission from the West, and Moscow responded by launching a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile into Ukraine.

Asked about the risk of a nuclear escalation, Peskov said the West should "listen carefully" to Putin and read Russia's newly updated nuclear doctrine, which lowered the threshold for using nuclear weapons.

Separately, Russian foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin said Moscow opposes simply freezing the conflict in Ukraine because it needs a "solid and long-term peace" that resolves the core reasons for the crisis.