1,210 words, 6 minutes read time
Dubai [UAE], April 15 (ANI): Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has expressed hope that Iran and the United States will soon reach an agreement in their ongoing talks, highlighting that such a deal could alleviate the threat of war in Iran and the region.
In an exclusive interview to ANI on the sidelines of the Global Justice, Love and Peace Summit in Dubai, Ebadi said, “As you know, there are, at the moment, talks between Iran and the US in Oman and the Iranians are saying that the talks are indirect and the US is saying that the talks are direct. But both sides have agreed that these talks have to continue… and personally, I hope that they reach an agreement because if they do so, it will lessen the threat of war in Iran and the region.”
Ebadi also addressed the dire economic situation currently facing Iran, characterised by high inflation and a depreciating currency, attributing its deterioration to a combination of domestic corruption, mismanagement, and the country’s continued financial support for militant groups in the region.
She further alleged that the Iranian government’s funding of its “proxies” like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, among others, contributed to the imposition of international sanctions, including from the US, against the country. The sanctions exacerbated the economic crisis of Iran, said Ebadi, who served as one of the country’s first judges and was conferred with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003.
“At the moment, the economic situation in Iran has hit an all-time low, and there are several factors responsible for that. One is the huge level of embezzlement and economic corruption in Iran. And second, you know, Iran has been funding its proxies in the region like Hezbollah in Lebanon, like the Houthis in Yemen, and until the fall of Bashar al-Assad, they were also bolstering the Assad regime. Another factor is the sanctions imposed on Iran by the US. All these factors combined have been making the economic situation worse than ever.”
Washington and Tehran concluded “indirect” negotiations in Muscat on Saturday and agreed to hold further talks, as per a report in Al-Jazeera. Iranian state broadcaster Press TV cited the country’s foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, who emphasised that the negotiations hosted by Oman were limited strictly to nuclear and sanctions-related issues.
Earlier, Tehran rejected Washington’s proposal for “direct” negotiations over US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign and threats of military action against Iran. Following the discussion, the White House issued a statement saying the talks were “positive and constructive.”
In March, Iran’s Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati was impeached after parliament voted to dismiss him amid rising inflation and a falling currency. In 2015, the exchange rate for the Iranian rial stood at 32,000 to one US dollar.
However, by the time President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government assumed office in July 2024, the rial had significantly depreciated, reaching approximately 600,000 to the dollar in the open market.
In addition to the country’s internal challenges, US sanctions have significantly contributed to the country’s dire economic conditions. On February 4 this year, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum restoring maximum pressure on the government of Iran, denying the nation “all paths to a nuclear weapon, and countering Iran’s malign influence abroad.”
Earlier this month, the US Department of State imposed sanctions on four entities engaged in Iranian petroleum trade and identified two vessels as blocked property. Apart from the US, the EU had also imposed sanctions against Iran in response to its human rights abuses, nuclear proliferation activities and military support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a previous nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, between Iran and world powers in 2018.
“Iran’s human rights situation at worst”
Nobel Peace Prize-winning Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi has condemned the dire state of human rights in Iran, accusing the regime of violent repression and its severe crackdown on freedoms.
In an exclusive interview with ANI on the sidelines of the Global Justice, Love and Peace Summit in Dubai, Ebadi noted the alarming rise in executions, including the death penalty being imposed on juveniles. She emphasised the Iranian people’s desire for a democratic, secular government that engages with the world, rather than remaining isolated under a dictatorship.
On the most urgent rights issues currently facing Iran and how the international community can help address them, Ebadi said, “The human rights situation in Iran is at its worst at the moment. It’s very bad. There is a very high level of executions in Iran, and the death penalty has also been applied in cases of juveniles under the age of 18 in the country. The people have been protesting… The people do not want this regime. Because the regime is a dictatorship, they want a democratic and secular government, and they want their government to interact with the rest of the world, and they want this isolation to end.”
The Iranian lawyer and writer who served as one of the country’s first judges and was conferred with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 argued that a reinterpretation of Islam is needed to ensure women’s rights are respected, stressing the importance of legal reform to end systemic gender discrimination.
When asked about the steps that can be taken to promote women’s rights in Iran, she told ANI, “Since the beginning of the 1979 revolution in Iran, Iranian women gradually lost all the rights. They have been deprived of their rights, but since then, the women have defiantly started a very strong feminist movement, and I realise that the regime is applying the wrong interpretation of Islam, and thus, they are violating the rights of women in the name of Islam and under the pretext of Islam… We can be Muslims yet respect the rights of women, and that is possible. We need to change the laws in Iran…”
A report by Human Rights Watch revealed that Iran remains one of the world’s top practitioners of the death penalty, applying it to individuals convicted of crimes committed as children, in cases of individuals charged with vague national security charges, and has sometimes used it for non-violent offences.
Iran was among the five countries with the highest number of executions in 2023, and the number of executions has remained high in 2024. A UN statement said that in the first half of 2024 alone, Iranian authorities executed more than 400 people.
The report also found that Iranian authorities are carrying out the crime against humanity of persecution against Baha’is in Iran, the largest non-Muslim religious minority.
Iranian authorities also continue to restrict the freedoms of assembly and expression severely. In 2024, security forces arrested dozens of activists, lawyers, and students. The authorities also targeted outspoken family members of those killed or executed during the 2022 protests, who were demanding accountability for violations against their loved ones.
The HRW report also revealed that Iranian authorities intensified efforts to enforce compulsory hijab laws. They prosecuted women and girls, including celebrities, for not wearing the hijab in public, issued traffic citations to passengers without hijab, and closed businesses that did not comply with hijab laws. (ANI)
About The Author
