Iran protests Italy for ‘interventionist statements and actions’ by Italian officials

ANKARA

Iran protested Italy for “interventionist statements and actions” by Italian politicians on Thursday, according to a statement.

“Giuseppe Perrone, the Italian ambassador in Tehran, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today,” it said. “It was emphasized that selective and double approaches regarding human rights are completely unacceptable from the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

It said sanctions against Iran are “illegal” and they have “violated the rights of the Iranian nation and severely harmed the interests of the Iranian people.”

Italy’s Prime Minister Georgia Meloni said Thursday that “What is happening in Iran for us is unacceptable and we will not tolerate it any longer, we have always had a dialogue approach but, if these repressions in Iran should not cease and there is no turning back, Italy's attitude will have to change," according to the Italian news agency ANSA.

The comments by Meloni came after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told the Iranian envoy that death sentences against protesters involved in demonstrations must stop.

Protests in Iran

The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran because of the death of a young woman in police custody rose to 476, according to a rights group on Wednesday.

Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based organization, said the toll included 34 women and 64 minors.

The highest toll was reported in Sistan and Baluchistan provinces with 130 deaths, 55 in West Azerbaijan province and 52 in Tehran.

Iran has seen sweeping protests in recent months sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country's morality police in September.

Iranian authorities said at least 200 people have been killed in the protests.

Tensions have spiraled between Iran and the West since the outbreak of the protests, with Western countries imposing a raft of human rights-related sanctions on Tehran for "repression and crackdown against anti-government protesters."

Tehran, for its part, has accused those countries of "stoking unrest" in recent months through the support of what it calls "riots."