IRAN TO REVIEW JUVENILE EXECUTIONS

Iran agreed to review its widely condemned policy of executing juvenile criminals and pledged to uphold freedoms of expression, media and assembly, Western officials said. Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary-general of the Iranian high council for human rights, said that Iran was open to an impartial discussion of its record, but Western ways should not be imposed on the Islamic republic.
"We are a democracy, perhaps the only and greatest one in the Middle East. We are very proud of that achievement," he told the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Iran did not directly address the issue of executions by stoning, a concern raised by Australia and Japan.