December 25 2020
The United States has designated Iran among 10 countries it finds guilty of “egregious violations of religious freedom.”
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “No country or entity should be allowed to persecute people with impunity because of their beliefs. These annual designations show that when religious freedom is attacked, we will act.” Iran has been on the list for many years.
The 10 countries designated for “particular concern” are Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmen-istan. The last four are all geographic neighbors of Iran.
The four countries placed on the special watch list, which is less egregious than the first list, are the Comoros, Cuba, Nicaragua and Russia.
The announcement said Uzbekistan and Sudan have been removed from the special watch list based on “significant, concrete progress” by their governments over the past year.
Countries on the list potentially face sanctions. But Iran is already under more egregious sanctions.