Iran to Try Bush Officials for Human Rights Abuses

Iran intends to try 26 current or former US officials in absentia for human rights violations and forward its findings to international tribunals, one lawmaker said today. He didn’t specify which officials, but Reuters believes it’s likely to be the same people listed on a bill currently in Iran’s parliament, which would sanction the likes of Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and the military commanders in charge of the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prisons.

"The Islamic Republic will diligently pursue the trials of these people and will support the legitimate rights of the oppressed people of the world," the lawmaker said. The move is designed as a kind of rebuttal against Western accusations of Iranian human rights abuses. The UN recently appointed a special investigator to look into Tehran’s alleged misdeeds, particularly during the post-election protests of 2009. (More Iran stories.)