Status: 11/13/2022 10:26 am
Iran has dismissed Chancellor Scholz’s criticism of the crackdown on demonstrators, calling it interference in internal affairs. State Department spokesman Kanaani called the words “provocative and undiplomatic.”
The government in Tehran has sharply criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his statements on the violent crackdown on demonstrators in Iran. “The German Chancellor’s remarks were provocative, meddling and undiplomatic,” said foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani. Sabotage a historic relationship could do “long-term damage,” in Canaani’s words, so Berlin should act more responsibly and respectfully toward Iran.
“We recommend that the federal government return to prudence in order to avoid further confusion in bilateral relations,” the spokesman said, according to the Iranian foreign ministry’s website.
Scholz: “Stand by the side of the Iranian people”
Scholz had sharply criticized the Iranian leadership in view of the serious human rights violations in the country. “What kind of government are you that shoots at your own citizens? Anyone who acts like this must count on our resistance,” he said in his video podcast published at the weekend.
Addressing the demonstrators, the Chancellor declared: “We stand for everything you are demanding: for human rights and women’s rights. We stand with the Iranian people.”
Scholz had previously confirmed that there should be further EU sanctions against Iran. Words alone were not enough, “in view of the brutality and contempt for human beings”. The EU has already decided on several sanction packages. “Further sanctions are to be added next week. We want to further increase the pressure on the Revolutionary Guards and the political leadership.”
Nouripour: Add Revolutionary Guards to list
Green leader Omid Nouripour called on the European Union to put the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on its list of terrorist organizations. “When I ask the demonstrators in Iran how we can help, they say: The people who kill our children should not be allowed to send their children to Europe to party,” Nouripour told “Bild am Sonntag”. To do this, the accounts that finance the partying would have to be frozen.
Classification allows assets to be frozen
The United States had already classified the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization in 2019 under then-President Donald Trump. On the other hand, they are not on a corresponding EU list. Such a classification would enable EU states to freeze any assets of the organization that may exist in the EU.
The Revolutionary Guards are the elite unit of the armed forces in Iran and far more important than the classic army. They report directly to the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all strategic matters.
In Iran, people have been protesting against the government and the Islamic system of rule since mid-September. The trigger was the death of the 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini in police custody.