House passes resolution to condemn Iran

The House on Wednesday gave voice vote approval to legislation to condemn Iran for its “gross human rights violations.”

Passage of the resolution, H. Res. 754, comes ahead of the Nov. 24 deadline for world powers to reach a deal with Iran on the country’s nuclear weapons.

{mosads}”I think it’s incumbent upon all of us, as the House is doing, to stand with the people of Iran who suffer under this theocracy and speak out,” said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.).

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) expressed support for the content of the resolution but questioned the timing of its passage.

“Let’s not pretend that this resolution is taking place at this time outside of any context,” Ellison said. 

“We should stand with the people of Iran and stand for their human rights,” Ellison said, but, he noted, “I have to ask the question, is this the most well-timed time for this resolution? I do worry that we could undermine the negotiations.”

Still, Ellison said the “four corners of this resolution are right.”

A 2014 U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom report found that Iran engaged in “systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom,” such as extended imprisonment and torture. In addition, the United Nations has found an increase in executions under Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s regime over the last year.