A U.S. Embassy in Iran’s Twitter post addressing Iranians that quoted Vice President Kamala Harris describing the United States as racist and discriminatory caused an uproar online, with many regarding the message as “Anti-American propaganda,” “demeaning to Iranians,” and “an insult to all Americans.”
A Wednesday tweet from the U.S. Virtual Embassy in Iran included a photo of Vice President Kamala Harris alongside a quote of hers denouncing the various forms of racism and discrimination in America.
The caption, written in Farsi, addresses “the truth” that the U.S. is guilty of all forms of hate and discrimination.
“The truth is: racism exists in America. Xenophobia exists in America. Antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, it all exists,” she is quoted as saying.
“Tackling injustice wherever it exists remains the work ahead,” she concludes.
.@VP: حقیقت این است: تبعیض نژادی در آمریکا وجود دارد. بیگانه ستیزی در آمریکا وجود دارد. یهود ستیزی، اسلام هراسی، همجنسگرا هراسی، ترنس هراسی، همه وجود دارند. رسیدگی به بی عدالتی هرکجا که باشد، فعالیت پیش روست. pic.twitter.com/mF14nwl9CZ
— USAbehFarsi (@USABehFarsi) February 16, 2022
Following the posting of the quote, many took to Twitter to express outrage.
“For Vice President Harris to suggest moral equivalence between the Iranian regime’s desire to eliminate Israel and a national policy of gender apartheid with American equality under the law is truly dangerous and ungrounded in reality,” wrote former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“Americans are better than this,” he added.
For Vice President Harris to suggest moral equivalence between the Iranian regime’s desire to eliminate Israel and a national policy of gender apartheid with American equality under the law is truly dangerous and ungrounded in reality. Americans are better than this. https://t.co/fn1Cd7mzek
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) February 16, 2022
“This self loathing from @VP is the ultimate proof that she is not fit for leading America if any thing happen[ed] to the President,” wrote political commentator Dr. Nervana Mahmoud.
“Epic fail!” she added.
This self loathing from @VP is the ultimate proof that she is not fit for leading America if any thing happen to the President.
Epic fail! https://t.co/8vh8OmrfG9— Nervana Mahmoud (@Nervana_1) February 16, 2022
“Who thought this was a good idea?” asked Omri Ceren, the national security advisor for Sen. Ted Cruz.
“This is *appalling* coming from a USG account,” wrote Ellie Cohanim, former deputy antisemitism czar under the Trump administration. “Why is the US @VP messaging as do America’s worst enemies?”
“This is demeaning to Iranians who are being executed for being gay, oppressed for being Jewish…and an insult to all Americans!” she added.
This is *appalling* coming from a USG account. Why is the US @VP messaging as do America’s worst enemies? This is demeaning to Iranians who are being executed for being gay, oppressed for being Jewish…and an insult to all Americans! @USABehFarsi https://t.co/HwcBGOeaJg
— Ellie Cohanim (@elliecohanim) February 16, 2022
“Kamala Harris tweeting in Iran’s official language that the US has a long list of problems. She thinks this makes her look enlightened,” wrote Ron Nehring, former Chairman of the California Republican Party.
“In that part of the world it will be seen as projecting overwhelming weakness,” he added.
Kamala Harris tweeting in Iran’s official language that the US has a long list of problems. She thinks this makes her look enlightened.
In that part of the world it will be seen as projecting overwhelming weakness. https://t.co/Qdk7Xpi4Q5
— Ron Nehring (@RonNehring) February 17, 2022
“MORE GARBAGE from the @StateDept Persian lang handle,” wrote Karmel Melamed, an award-winning Iranian Jewish journalist, activist and attorney.
“Instead of calling out Jew hatred, misogyny, anti-gay beliefs & overall bigotry of the Ayatollah regime, these fools call America xenophobic, Islamophobic, etc.,” he added. “Wake up CLOWNS, when will you focus on mullahs’ evil?! SMH.”
In another tweet, he accused the State Department of publicizing a “below idiotic message calling America xenophobic & Islamophobic” instead of condemning the Islamic regime’s execution of two gay men last month.
MORE GARBAGE from the @StateDept Persian lang handle. Instead of calling out Jew hatred, misogyny, anti-gay beliefs & overall bigotry of the Ayatollah regime, these fools call America xenophobic, Islamophobic, etc. Wake up CLOWNS, when will you focus on mullahs’ evil?! SMH. https://t.co/3aKFgfoqqN
— Karmel Melamed (@KarmelMelamed) February 16, 2022
“Imagine beaming propaganda messages like this into Germany during WW2,” suggested John Allen Gay, executive director of the John Quincy Adams Society. “‘Britain also has fanatical nationalism and antisemitism, but we’re working on that.’”
“Posting this from the @StateDept’s Farsi channel knowing full well it will arm the Iranian regime, the world’s top sponsor of terrorism and sworn enemy of the United States, with propaganda talking points is shocking—especially as the @USEnvoyIran is busy surrendering in Vienna,” wrote Len Khodorkovsky, former deputy assistant secretary of state.
Posting this from the @StateDept’s Farsi channel knowing full well it will arm the Iranian regime, the world’s top sponsor of terrorism and sworn enemy of the United States, with propaganda talking points is shocking—especially as the @USEnvoyIran is busy surrendering in Vienna. https://t.co/Wc2FT9MbMN
— Len Khodorkovsky (@MessageFromLen) February 16, 2022
“The regime in #Iran kills members of the #LGBTQ community, calls for another Holocaust & kills Muslims around the region,” wrote the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI), a movement for human rights and democracy in Iran.
“But @StateDept is tweeting in Persian about ‘discrimination, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, anti-gay injustice’ …in America,” the group added. “This is shameful & insulting.”
“We have democracy, freedom of speech, rule of law and equality under it. We have the ability to move towards a more perfect union,” wrote former Republican Rep. Scott Taylor. “None of this is true in Iran.”
“This is a disgraceful tweet by our Vice President,” he added.
We have democracy, freedom of speech, rule of law and equality under it. We have the ability to move towards a more perfect union. None of this is true in Iran. This is a disgraceful tweet by our Vice President. https://t.co/0UfjGckJTi
— Scott Taylor (@Scotttaylorva) February 17, 2022
“Can we have a Vice President who doesn’t talk bad about our nation to the world, who doesn’t equate us with the Iranian regime??” he asked in another tweet. “Please and thank you.”
“Is Kamala Harris the Vice President of the US or of some US-hating dictatorship?” asked human rights and national security lawyer and analyst Irina Tsukerman.
“Here she is spreading anti-#American propaganda to an Iranian language outlet,” she added. “These attacks by one of the top US officials on her own country will be shamelessly used by #Iran regime.”
Is Kamala Harris the Vice President of the US or of some US-hating dictatorship? Here she is spreading anti-#American propaganda to an Iranian language outlet. These attacks by one of the top US officials on her own country will be shamelessly used by #Irann regime. https://t.co/HJAh1QzCfa
— Irina Tsukerman (@irinatsukerman_) February 16, 2022
“Do the US government employees criticizing the US for antisemitism understand that Iran wants to murder half of the world’s Jewish population?” asked writer Melissa Braunstein.
“There’s constant reason Iranians across the political spectrum are insulted and irate at Biden’s Iran policy: the admin actively seeks ways to minimize their oppression, even suggesting moral equivalence between the grotesque, systematic inequality they suffer and life in America,” wrote Iranian-American activist Mariam Memarsadeghi.
There’s constant reason Iranians across the political spectrum are insulted and irate at Biden’s Iran policy: the admin actively seeks ways to minimize their oppression, even suggesting moral equivalence between the grotesque, systematic inequality they suffer and life in America https://t.co/z57NlrjRSb
— Mariam Memarsadeghi (@memarsadeghi) February 16, 2022
“All they tweet in Farsi is about how racist America is,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Who is behind this account? Ali Khamenei or Kamala Harris?” asked another.
Another user accused the vice president of “equating the freest country on earth to a regime who regularly murders those they discriminate against.”
“Is this how the @VP talks about the United States when she’s overseas?” asked another Twitter user.
Iran has long been accused of severe human rights violations and implementation of the death penalty “at an alarming rate.”
Last month, the Islamic Republic executed two gay men by hanging after being charged with committing sodomy.
In Iran, the penalty for sex between two Muslim men is punishable by 100 lashes, however, if the “active party is non-Muslim and the passive party is Muslim” they receive the death penalty.
Between January and October last year, at least 226 people were executed in Iran, including one juvenile offender, nine women, and 83 individuals for drug-related offenses, according to the non-profit human rights organization Iran Human Rights.
In one incident, an Iranian citizen was executed for repeated convictions of alcohol consumption.
Breitbart News previously reported that Iran was the top executioner in the Middle East last year, accounting for more than half the region’s 493 executions.
The United Nations estimates there are currently more than 85 juvenile offenders awaiting execution in the regime.
Senior Iranian official Majid Tafreshi, a member of the Iranian regime’s High Council for Human Rights who has admitted to several such executions each year, argued that executions of underage children are not a “symbol of violations of human rights.”
Iran has a variety of cruel, punitive measures, including torture, for “offenders” — often on fabricated charges as a means of suppressing dissent.
While execution can be meted out for “offenses” such as adultery, Iranian authorities also reserve the right to administer blinding, amputation, and flogging – even for non-violent offenders such as thieves.
Last year, the U.N. condemned reports from Iran that LGBTQ youth are subject to electric shocks, the administration of hormones and strong psychoactive medications, as well as another mistreatment from state authorities, saying the practices amount to “torture.”
Meanwhile, human rights advocates within the regime opposing such policies face constant threats.
Last month, an Iranian court was reported to have sentenced leading human rights activist Narges Mohammedi to eight years in prison and more than 70 lashes.
This week, Iran’s parliament introduced new measures paving the way for even more restrictions on internet use in the theocracy.
In December, the U.S. imposed sanctions on a dozen Iranian government officials and entities for “serious” human rights abuses, including the repression of protesters and activists, in prisons where activists have been held in brutal conditions.
In addition, Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism worldwide and claims its nuclear program is for energy purposes but world leaders, including the six nations that joined the 2015 deal to limit Iran’s nuclear weapons capacity, say enriching uranium may lead to Iran’s ability to quickly create a nuclear weapon.
Iran is reportedly weeks away from developing its first nuclear missile and unveiled last week that it had a new long-range missile with a target range of approximately 900 miles.
The post comes as Iran claims an agreement to revive the 2015 nuclear deal is “at hand.”
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein
