Tehran has criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) 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. In Kanaani’s words, sabotaging a historic relationship could cause “long-term damage.” Berlin should act more responsibly towards 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 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 its own citizens? Anyone who acts like this must count on our resistance,” he said in his video podcast released on Saturday. He was responding to previously voiced Iranian threats. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian had threatened consequences for Germany’s position on the issue.
For weeks people in Iran have been protesting against the government and the Islamic system of rule. The trigger was the death of the 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini in police custody. Security forces use violence against the demonstrators, arrests and death sentences are frequent.
Scholz said in his video speech: You can see what is happening on the streets, in the lecture halls and in the courtrooms. “We see the struggle for freedom and justice. And: We see Iranian drones attacking and killing Ukrainian cities. All of this is completely unacceptable.” He reiterated that there should be further EU sanctions against Iran. The EU states had agreed on this on Friday. Words alone were not enough, “in view of the brutality and contempt for human beings”. The pressure on the Revolutionary Guards and the political leadership must be further increased.
Greens want to put the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on the terror list
Green Party leader Omid Nouripour has called on the EU 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 said picture on sunday. “To do this, the accounts used to finance the partying must be frozen. The EU should put the Revolutionary Guards, the main pillars of repression, on its terror list.”
The Revolutionary Guards are the elite unit of the armed forces in Iran and are 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.
The United States 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 allow the organization’s assets located in the EU to be frozen.