NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly interviews the International Minister of Iran, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, in Tehran.

Marjan Yazdi for NPR

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Marjan Yazdi for NPR

NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly interviews the International Minister of Iran, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, in Tehran.

Marjan Yazdi for NPR

TEHRAN, Iran — Months after the demise of Mahsa Amini, a deep-seated sense of anger and desperation persists within the streets of Tehran, even because the protests that rocked Iran have diminished.

The protests erupted after the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian girl — recognized to household as Jina — died in police custody in September, after being detained for allegedly sporting a scarf improperly. What began as anger at her demise rapidly grew right into a motion led by younger Iranians, who took to the streets to air their wide-ranging grievances in opposition to Iran’s rulers.

NPR heard these grievances in dialog with individuals on the streets of Tehran, who mentioned life in Iran generally felt inconceivable. They described an economic system during which fundamental wants like meals and medication are punishingly costly, unemployment is rampant, and a restricted web has left them feeling reduce off from the world.

Some blamed U.S.-led sanctions, however many accused their very own authorities of mismanagement and brutality.

Iran’s International Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, in Tehran.

Marjan Yazdi for NPR

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Marjan Yazdi for NPR

Iran’s International Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, in Tehran.

Marjan Yazdi for NPR

In response to human rights teams, the federal government killed a whole lot of protestors in its response, and jailed 1000’s. In December, the federal government started executing individuals concerned within the protests on fees starting from assault to homicide.

4 individuals have been put to demise up to now and not less than 14 extra have obtained demise sentences. The United Nations Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights mentioned final month that the executions violated due course of and amounted to “state-sanctioned killings.”

In an interview with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly, Iran’s International Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian — talking by means of his interpreter — dismissed the affect of the protests, known as the demonstrators “rioters,” and mentioned that “nothing essential had occurred.”

The protests

Amir-Abdollahian denied studies that the federal government had arbitrarily detained tens of 1000’s of individuals. He mentioned that everybody who had been detained within the protests “performed a job within the riots on the streets” and mentioned a whole lot, not 1000’s, had been detained.

He brushed apart photographic proof of protester accidents compiled by human rights activists. “We’ve got seen the exact same footage,” he mentioned. “However the query is, who has, in truth, fired these photographs: the police or the rioters?”

“Israeli and American armaments got here by means of from a few of our neighboring nations,” he mentioned, and got to the “rioters.” And he mentioned that police who responded to the demonstrations weren’t allowed to hold firearms. Nonetheless, human rights teams have documented safety forces utilizing weapons in opposition to protesters and firing in crowded areas.

Amir-Abdollahian additionally criticized statements from U.S. officers in assist of Iranian protesters. He known as them interventionist, flawed and “tantamount to interference.”

Freedom of expression

The international minister maintained that “individuals can freely voice their concepts” in Iran. Requested about Iranians who declined to talk to NPR, citing worry of authorities and pointing to CCTV cameras, he joked, “You would have interviewed them in a blind spot.” Later he mentioned that there are only a few cameras on the streets in Iran, which contradicts the observations by NPR journalists in Tehran this week.

Requested in regards to the greater than 90 journalists that the Committee for the Safety of Journalists (CPJ) mentioned have been detained for the reason that begin of the protests, Amir-Abdollahian mentioned “no journalist was detained throughout riots.” He prompt that they might have been “re-labeled” as journalists after they had been detained for another offense.

Actually, a sampling of the names on CPJ’s listing rapidly reveals journalists who labored for well-known retailers in Iran. They embrace Niloofar Hamedi of the Shargh Every day newspaper and Elahe Mohammadi of the state-run Hammihan Every day — two of the journalists who helped break the story of Mahsa Amini’s demise.

The NPR group — Mary Louise Kelly (second from left), and (proper) Fatma Tanis and Connor Donevan — put together for the interview.

Marjan Yazdi for NPR

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Marjan Yazdi for NPR

The NPR group — Mary Louise Kelly (second from left), and (proper) Fatma Tanis and Connor Donevan — put together for the interview.

Marjan Yazdi for NPR

Nuclear deal

On the demise of the 2015 settlement that gave Iran sanctions aid in return for limits on Iran’s nuclear program, the diplomat pointed to the U.S. pulling out of the deal. The Trump administration broke the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions. Iran then began breaking the settlement’s limits on nuclear exercise.

In response to the pinnacle of the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company, Rafael Grossi, it has now amassed sufficient extremely enriched uranium to construct a number of nuclear weapons. However Amir-Abdollahian mentioned that didn’t imply Iran was making an attempt to construct a nuclear bomb.

“With a purpose to reply to flawed American habits and inside the framework of reciprocity, we leveled up our nuclear actions at dwelling,” he mentioned. “Nonetheless, on the subject of our beliefs and values, we don’t pursue the making of a nuclear bomb.”

The Biden administration desires to revive the nuclear deal. However negotiations have been at a standstill, and the deal’s future hangs within the steadiness, with U.S. officers expressing low confidence in Iran’s willingness to revive the settlement.

“There may be confusion inside the White Home,” mentioned Amir-Abdollahian, accusing the U.S. of hypocrisy and combined messaging. “If you wish to return to the deal, why do you say one factor to the media and the opposite by means of our diplomatic exchanges?”

He expressed Iran’s need to return to the deal however added that “the window of alternative won’t be open ceaselessly.” In the meantime, U.S. officers say that amid condemnations within the West over Iran’s dealing with of the protests and because it helps Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this isn’t the time to revive the nuclear deal.

The international minister additionally mentioned the negotiations over the discharge of Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American who was detained in 2015 and has been in Tehran’s Evin jail. Namazi is one among not less than three U.S. residents presently held in Iran.

“We’re able to change prisoners,” Amir-Abollahian mentioned, including that negotiations had been ongoing however that there have been “technical steps that have to be taken by People.” He didn’t elaborate on what these steps had been.