News - Middle East: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has criticized the United States for using human rights as a tool to achieve its goals, saying the “sublime concept” has been reduced to a “plaything” by Washington.

Saeed Khatibzadeh made the remarks in an address to a gathering of Iranian nongovernmental organizations enjoying consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on Sunday.

The Iranian diplomat noted that the issue of human rights is one of the most important victims of international relations at the current juncture.

“Due to the approach adopted by the centers of power in the world, the issue of human rights has been turned into a political tool to advance those centers’ goals,” he said.

Khatibzadeh further took the United States to task for its skewed approach to human rights, saying, “The United States uses human rights as a tool in its foreign policy toolbox in order to achieve its goals. Unfortunately, this approach has degraded the sublime concept of human rights to a plaything.”

Iran has time and again warned of the exploitation of human rights by the US and its Western allies as a tool to target independent countries.