UN experts on Friday welcomed the signing of a 14-point memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran but warned that any final agreement that fails to address human rights in Iran would be “fundamentally incomplete.”
In a statement, the experts said the MoU focuses mainly on military withdrawal, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, nuclear commitments, sanctions relief and a $300 billion reconstruction fund, while the Iranian people are “barely visible” in the framework.
“A deal that serves geopolitical interests while leaving the Iranian people behind is not a peace agreement worthy of the name,” they said.
The groups of experts which includes the UN Special Rapporteur for Iran's human rights situation Mai Sato, accused Iranian authorities of using the war to intensify repression, saying thousands had been detained since late February, with many reportedly tortured, forcibly disappeared, subjected to mock executions or forced to confess on camera.
They said at least 156 people had been executed since the start of the war, including at least 42 on espionage and national security-related charges, many after proceedings in which confessions were reportedly obtained under torture or defendants were denied access to lawyers.
They also cited the seizure of assets belonging to at least 1,500 citizens, including hundreds of Iranians abroad, calling it a tool of punishment and transnational repression.
In recent days, many Iranians opposed to the Islamic Republic have voiced frustration over the signing of the US-Iran memorandum, fearing that Washington and Tehran are moving toward an agreement that would preserve the ruling system after months of war, repression, blackouts and sanctions.
After the January crackdown, in which security forces killed thousands of protesters and detained many more, both Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu promised to support Iranians seeking to bring down the regime.
But the agreement has deepened concern among many anti-government Iranians that ordinary people paid the heaviest price while Tehran’s more hardline leadership survived and may now gain breathing space through diplomacy.
In their Friday statement, the UN experts urged all states involved in or mediating the next 60 days of negotiations to press for accountability, reparations, a moratorium on executions, the release of arbitrarily detained people, disclosure of the fate of the forcibly disappeared, restoration of open internet access and protection of civic space.
“The end of hostilities must not be mistaken for the restoration of rights,” they warned. “For the Iranian people, that work is yet to begin.”
