Iran rejects UN probe into protests

DUBAI: Iran will reject a newly-appointed independent UN investigation into the country’s repression of anti-government protests, the foreign ministry said on Monday, as demonstrations showed no sign of abating.

“Iran will have no cooperation with the political committee formed by the UN Rights Council,” ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said. The UN Rights Council voted on Thursday to appoint a probe into Iran’s deadly crackdown on protests.

Volker Turk, the UN rights commissioner, had earlier demanded that Iran end its “disproportionate” use of force in quashing protests that erupted after the death in custody of 22-year old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on Sept 16. Activist news agency HRANA said 450 protesters had been killed in more than two months of nationwide unrest as of Nov 26, including 63 minors. It said 60 members of the security forces had been killed, and 18,173 protesters detained. Challenging the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy, protesters from all walks of life have burned pictures of Khamenei and called for the downfall of Iran’s theocracy.