By agency report
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blasted Germany, after Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested that the leadership in Tehran might be days away from being toppled by the mass protests gripping the country.
“Germany should end its unlawful interference in our region,” Araghchi wrote on X.
“Of all governments, the one in Germany is perhaps the worst placed to address ‘human rights.’ The reason is simple: its blatant double-standards over the past years have obliterated any shred of credibility,” he charged, citing German support for Israel during the Gaza war.
Merz found clear words regarding the future of the Islamic Republic, where security forces have responded with a deadly crackdown to suppress what have become the most severe protests against the government in several years.
“If a regime can only stay in power through the use of violence, then it is effectively finished,” Merz said during a visit to Bengaluru in India. “I assume that we may now be witnessing the final days and weeks of this regime.”
According to Merz, the foreign ministers of Germany, the US, the UK and France were in “close contact to ensure that there can now be a peaceful transition in Iran to a democratically legitimate government.”
“The population is now rising up against this regime,” Merz said.
Araghchi strongly rejected the German leaders’ account.
“Iranians also recall Mr Merz’s repugnant hailing of Israel when it bombed homes and businesses in our country last summer,” he said.
“That unprovoked and unlawful violence, the German Chancellor insisted, was Israel doing Europe a favor by carrying out its ‘dirty work.'”
At a G7 summit in June last year, Merz defended large-scale Israeli attacks on Iran, saying the country was doing “the dirty work” for the West.
Iran has been gripped since December 28 by its most serious protest wave for years. What began as protests by shopkeepers over a sharp fall in the value of the Iranian rial and mounting economic hardship quickly spiralled into nationwide demonstrations against the country’s hardline Islamic rulers.
Activists say the security forces have responded using brutal tactics, including firing tear gas and bullets.
The Oslo-based human rights group Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) says at least 648 people have been killed since the protests erupted.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) also puts the death toll at around 650, including 505 protesters – nine of whom are said to be minors aged under 18.
IHRNGO said that some estimates put the toll at over 6,000, while more than 10,000 are believed to have been arrested.
It is impossible to verify the figures, also due the ongoing internet blackout imposed by the authorities.
