Tammy Bruce, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, referred to the arrest of Kurdish citizens in Iran for participating in Nowruz celebrations, calling the Iranian regime one of the worst human rights violators in the world. She stated that the Trump administration would continue to support and defend the human rights of the Iranian people.
On Friday, March 28, in a press conference, the U.S. State Department spokesperson stated that the Iranian regime is one of the worst human rights violators in the world. She emphasized that the regime suppresses its people to maintain power and prevents them from enjoying fundamental freedoms.
Following the Nowruz celebrations (the Persian New Year, which begins on March 21) in Kurdistan, Mohammad Jabari, the province’s prosecutor, announced the arrest of individuals labeled as “leaders and main agents of propaganda activities against the regime under the cover of Nowruz celebrations.”
In recent days, several human rights websites have published the names of a number of Kurdish citizens who have been arrested in connection with Nowruz ceremonies in Kurdish-majority cities in Iran.
As large crowds gathered at tourist sites in Fars province at New Years’ time, which included dancing and anti-government slogans, Kamran Mirhaji, the province’s prosecutor, announced on Sunday, March 23, that action had been taken against some of the attendees, and several individuals had been arrested.
At the same time, following the chanting of anti-government slogans at Ferdowsi’s tomb on New Year’s Day, Mohammad Hossein Doroudi, the prosecutor of Razavi Khorasan province, reported that action had been taken against several individuals whom he described as “norm-breakers” during the New Year’s ceremony at Ferdowsi’s tomb.
The U.S. State Department spokesperson added on Friday that Iran executes more people than any other country in the world in an unjust manner, persecutes religious and ethnic minorities, and uses methods such as arbitrary detention, torture, and other human rights violations to intimidate political opponents and suppress any dissenting voices.
Tammy Bruce stated that the U.S. government would continue to support and defend the rights of the Iranian people against the regime’s ongoing human rights violations and authoritarian repression.
In March 2025, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Ilam announced that no institution would be allowed to issue permits for Nowruz celebrations.
Nowruz 1404 (which began on March 21) coincided with the month of Ramadan, and Sadegh Hosseini had threatened that there would be a “serious crackdown” on individuals who organized or raised funds for celebrations, either online or in person.
The U.S. State Department’s comprehensive report on human rights in Iran highlighted widespread and systematic human rights violations, including discrimination against women—particularly the enforcement of compulsory hijab—an increase in executions, censorship and severe restrictions on freedom of speech, the arrest and intimidation of journalists, transnational repression, violations of religious freedom, child rights abuses, particularly regarding child labor, and many other extensive human rights abuses in Iran.
