Tehran (IP) - Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman has described the forcible deportation of asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda as a historic shame for the European country.

Iran PressIran News: In a statement on Tuesday, Saeed Khatibzadeh said: "What is happening is a historic shame for London and all those who have done their best to cover up and purge their colonial history."

Regarding the news that some of these asylum seekers are Iranian citizens, Khatibzadeh added, "The forcible deportation of asylum seekers to third countries and the current deadly silence of the so-called human rights defenders and responsible international bodies are a source of shame and a clear violation of refugee rights."

"What is happening is a systematic media conspiracy against Iran. The Persian-language media based in London provide an engineered and unrealistic image of Iran from within and a more unrealistic dream of living in Europe, paving the way for the dangerous departure of some Iranian citizens," the statement added.

Khatibzadeh stated, "Despite the oppression that these few people inflict on themselves and their homeland, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the framework of its sovereign duties, emphasizes that the rights of these individuals must be respected under the 1951 Convention and the relevant protocol, and their deportation to third countries is a dangerous procedure that will destroy the remnants of the international refugee protection regime."

Khatibzadeh concluded: "While Iran, despite all economic sanctions, is hosting millions of citizens of other countries, including Afghanistan, it is unfortunate that the so-called human rights defenders have not been able to accommodate the thousands of refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom have taken the risk of being displaced due to the systematic deception of these same governments."

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