Iran´s human rights situation worries Finland

Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the human rights situation in Iran, particularly the situation of women and girls.

Valtonen in a telephone conversation with her Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi also opposed Iran´s military support to Russia and underlined the need for de-escalation in the Middle East, the FM wrote in a post on her social media platform X.

“In a call with Iran’s FM Araghchi, I relayed Finland’s strong position on Iran’s unacceptable military support to Russia. Underlined the need for de-escalation in the Middle East. Also expressed deep concern over the human rights situation in Iran, esp. that of women and girls,” Valtonen wrote in her post.

News agency Xinhua adds: Valtonen and Araghchi exchanged views on the latest developments in the West Asia region.

In the a phone call, Araghchi said Iran's history showed that Iranians are peace-loving people, blaming the crisis in West Asia on Israel's "warmongering and genocide," according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

He slammed certain European countries for their "paradoxical and contradictory" approaches towards Israeli "crimes" in the region, regretting that no effective action has been taken by the European Union to counter Israel's law violations and crimes in its ongoing offensives against Palestine and Lebanon.

Valtonen, for her part, expressed concern about the humanitarian disasters in West Asia, hoping that peace and stability would be restored to the region as soon as possible.

She added that stopping the violence required the continuation of talks and consultations among all parties.

During the phone talk, the two sides also highlighted the necessity of continuing consultations to expand bilateral relations and consular cooperation.