In a statement on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi denounced the US government’s brazen interference in the internal affairs of China after Congress passed the so-called "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act", which requires Washington to impose sanctions on Chinese officials for what it has called human rights abuses in the territory.
“After (taking) the course of withdrawal from international treaties as an anti-norm, interference in the internal affairs of other countries has turned into the second pillar of the US regime’s foreign policy,” he added.
The Iranian spokesman also underlined that hijacking human rights concepts would never create legitimacy for the US government’s “insolent” foreign policy.
He further condemned the congressional ratification of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, warning that violating international norms through such measures poses a serious threat to international stability.
His comments came after the US House of Representatives voted 417 to one for the bill on Hong Kong, which had passed the Senate unanimously on Tuesday.
The legislation, which has drawn China’s condemnation, would require the US State Department to certify at least once a year that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to qualify for the special US trading consideration that helped it become a world financial center.
It also would provide for sanctions against officials responsible for human rights violations in Hong Kong.