Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Mostafa Izadi lashed out in an anti-homosexual diatribe against former American gay presidential candidate mayor Peter Buttigieg in late February.
Izadi told Iran’s Channel 5 that "Man is different from animal. The West is in a crisis. Isn't it sad that a candidate for [US] president... I am ashamed to say who... He is a homosexual... [Isn't it sad] that such a man presents his candidacy for president? And on top of that, he stands a chance [to win]... This is real decadence. Our Revolution is the antecedent for enormous explosions in the region. This revolution really seeks to show people the way to liberate humanity."
Izadi’s reference appears to be to the South Bend, Indiana mayor Buttigieg, who withdrew from the presidential campaign on Sunday.
The Middle East Media Research Institute first translated the Izadi interview.
Peter Tatchell,The LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] and human rights campaigner, told The Jerusalem Post that, “Unlike this deluded general, most Americans want a president who will improve their quality of life. They care less about the president’s sexuality. This is a sign of progress compared to Iran, where homophobic criminalization and the death penalty for gay sex are state policy. “
Tatchell added that “Mostafa Izadi is wrong. Humans are no different from other animals. Homosexuality exists in all species and is part of the natural spectrum of sexuality.
According to a 2008 British WikiLeaks cable, Iran’s clerical regime has executed between 4,000 and 6,000 gays and lesbians since the nation’s 1979 Islamic revolution.
The British human rights activist said that “the ignorance and denialism of the Tehran regime is laughable.”
Tatchell noted that “Same-sex relations have been found in every society throughout history, including Iran. A survey of Iranian students some years ago revealed that 17% said they had experienced sexual relations with a person of the same sex. In the golden age of Islam, homosexual themes were common in art and literature.”
In late January, Buttigieg responded to comments made by US Rep. Ilhan Omar , in which she slammed Israel for violating human rights and compared its conduct to Tehran’s.
Buttigieg issued a potent rejoinder against Omar: “People like me get strung up in Iran… so the idea that what’s going on is equivalent is just wrong.”
The US has designated Izadi's organization, the IRGC, a foreign terrorist organization.
In January 2019, the Post reported that Iran’s regime publicly hanged a man based on an anti-gay charge.
The Post reported this week that Ken Roth, the head of Human Rights Watch, accepted nearly $500,000 from a Saudi real estate tycoon to not criticize the repression of the LGBT community in the Middle East and North Africa.
Roth has remained largely silent over the years about Iran’s destruction of its LGBT community.