Irony not lost in meeting between Iranian FM, head of ICRC

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Geneva on Monday for meetings with UN officials and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Iranian Mehr news media reported that he is visiting to “attend [and speak at] the 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).”

His speech attacked Israel and urged the council to hold it to account for its crimes. Iran’s attempt to deflect attention from its own human rights crimes is ironic.

According to Iran’s Tasnim News, Amir-Abdollahian met with ICRC head Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, thanking the ICRC for its efforts “regarding Palestine and Gaza.” The premier aid organization has not yet met with any of the Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza by Hamas since October 7.

The ICRC also has not succeeded in delivering medical support to the hostages. Yet it has met with the Iranian regime. Tasnim claimed that Egger “expressed her concern for the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, thanking the political efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran to help end the war.” Iran helped cause the war and has flooded the region with weapons that cause war, yet the ICRC thanked Iran for its “effort” to end it.

Iran, which backs Hamas and supported October 7, has said it wants to see political efforts to end the “Gaza crisis.” Iran instigated the crises in Gaza and now claims that “the situation in northern Gaza is very dire,” with Amir-Abdollahian saying that “more than 600,000 residents of northern Gaza are suffering from hunger.” For years, Iran has exported weapons to Hamas, fueling conflicts in Gaza which cause hunger among the population, and then Iran discusses that hunger at meetings at the UN.

The foreign minister also said that “the leaders of the Palestinian groups are considering democratic methods and a political agreement between all Palestinian groups and currents to manage post-war Gaza. In this way, support is a democratic method.” What does “democratic” mean in this context? The Iranian regime, which suppresses protests and human rights, also views itself as having “democratic” elements. “Democratic” may mean pushing Hamas interests in the West Bank.

Iran is also very much concerned about a possible Rafah operation, which could “deepen the dimensions of this disaster and face a very serious threat to the 1.4 million displaced Palestinians living in Rafah,” said Amir-Abdollahian. While in one breath discussing the suffering in Gaza, Iran praises the “powerful” Hamas “resistance.”

Amir-Abdollahian “also thanked the... efforts of the ICRC in the investigation of the Iranian martyrs of the imposed war and, referring to the hope of the families of the missing, requested the continuation of the committee’s support for the investigation process,” Tasnim reported.

The article includes photos of the meeting. According to the report, the ICRC is mobilizing “facilities to send humanitarian aid to Gaza.” Again, the hostages were not mentioned. After the meeting, the Iranian representatives presented the ICRC with a list of “martyrs” to be “placed in the museum of the ICRC,” according to the report. It remains unclear why the ICRC appears to value the Iranian regime and its input on a war it helped cause, or why it receives praise from the ICRC.