May 31, 2020, 8:44 AM

Some don’t believe ‘Black lives matter’, Zarif says as US protests grow

Some don’t believe ‘Black lives matter’, Zarif says as US protests grow

TEHRAN, May 31 (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has slammed the United States for its brutal behavior towards African Americans, calling on the world to ramp up war against racism.

Tweeting on Saturday, he wrote “Some don't think 'Black Lives Matter',” pointing to an international activist movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards black people.

"To those of us who do: it is long overdue for the entire world to wage war against racism," he wrote, noting "Time for a World Against Racism."

The Iranian minister also posted an image that shows a revised version of a statement issued by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2018 about protests in Iran.

Earlier in the day, the Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly denounced rampant bloodshed of African-Americans in the United States and the country’s suppression of the protests that have followed the recent grisly murder of a black man by a white police officer in Minneapolis.

“Iran regrets the tragic murder of black Americans, denounces deadly racial profiling in the United States & urges authorities to do justice for every case,” the ministry said in a tweet on Friday.

The condemnation came three days after disturbing footage surfaced online showing the police officer, Derek Chauvin, choking unarmed George Floyd to death after forcing him to the ground and pinning him down with his knee.

The officer refused to relieve the pressure, although Floyd was being heard repeatedly pleading for his life and saying, “I can’t breathe.”

Floyd’s death, a poignant reminder of repeated unjustifiable killings of members of the African-American community by the US police, has been followed by protests across the country.

MAH/4937888

News ID 159252

Tags

Your Comment

You are replying to: .
  • captcha