Iran slams German, French leaders for ‘supporting’ anti-government protests

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iran has condemned remarks by the leaders of Germany and France in support of the ongoing anti-government protests over the death of an Iranian woman in police custody.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Sunday termed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s remarks on protests in Iran as “interventionist and provocative”.

The spokesman warned that damage to relations between the two countries will have “long-term consequences”.

In his weekly address on Saturday, Scholz slammed the Iranian government for its crackdown on protests and said Berlin stands “shoulder to shoulder with the Iranian people”.

He said the protests triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody were no longer “a question of dress codes” but had transformed into a fight for freedom and justice.

Amini’s death in September sparked countrywide protests in Iran, prompting the US and the European Union to impose a slew of sanctions on several Iranian officials and entities.

Kanaani also took strong umbrage to French President Emmanuel Macron’s meeting with a dissident Iranian-American journalist and activist on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum.

Kanaani termed it “surprising” that Macron “lowered his level” by meeting with a person who has “tried to spread hatred and violence against Iran”.

The French president on Friday met with a delegation of exiled Iranian journalists and rights activists and described the ongoing protests in Iran as a “revolution”.

Kanaani termed Macron’s remarks on protests in Iran as “regrettable and shameful” and said his meeting with Alinejad and others was a “flagrant violation of France’s international responsibilities in the fight against terrorism and violence”.