State Department condemns Iran, China for persecuting religious minorities

By Carol Morello June 21 at 5:21 PM

The State Department condemned China and Iran on Friday for treating religious minorities as national security threats meriting surveillance, imprisonment and sometimes death.

In introducing the annual report on International Religious Freedom, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo struck an unusual personal note, noting he had been a Sunday school teacher and a church deacon, and took a swipe at Washington.

“That might sound unusual to a lot of people inside the Beltway,” he said. “But I am one of millions of Americans, and billions of people across the world, who live in the knowledge of a higher power. I often humbly reflect on how God’s providence has guided me to this office, to defend this cause.”

Samuel Brownback, the ambassador for religious freedom, said: “We believe there is no more important time for the United States to promote religious freedom than now.”

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