‘Hypocrisy is Blatant’: Iran Hits Back at France, EU Over Protester Executions

Iran has a message for France and other Western governments condemning its human-rights record: you have no moral high ground left to lecture us.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi lashed out at France, 25 other countries and the European Union on Thursday after they issued a joint statement condemning what they described as the execution of protesters and Iran's wider use of capital punishment.

“The hypocrisy is blatant and embarrassing,” Araghchi wrote on X, arguing that Western support for Israel during the Gaza conflict and its military actions against Iran had destroyed their credibility on human rights and international law.

The diplomatic clash follows a joint statement issued Wednesday by France, Canada, Germany, Australia, the UK and 21 other countries, along with the EU's High Representative.

They accused Tehran of using capital punishment to silence dissent, intimidate communities and punish people for exercising fundamental rights.

The signatories called on Iran to end its use of the death penalty, release people they said had been arbitrarily detained and allow Iranians to exercise freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear.

The allegations come after months of anti-government protests that began in December amid soaring inflation, economic distress and anger over governance.

France turns up the pressure

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot separately accused Tehran of continuing to “shed blood” through executions months after the protests erupted.

He demanded an end to what he described as “unbearable and inhumane” repression, the release of political prisoners and accountability for those responsible.

Barrot also said Iranians must be allowed to determine their own political future and exercise their fundamental rights.

Araghchi did not directly address the specific allegations concerning executions in his response. Instead, he turned the charge of human-rights violations back on Iran's critics.

“Countries like France should stop lecturing the world about ‘human rights’ and international law,” he said.

His argument was that Western backing for Israel in Gaza and during military action against Iran had stripped those governments of the authority to condemn Tehran.

The exchange marks another escalation in the increasingly bitter confrontation between Iran and European governments, with human rights now becoming another front in a diplomatic battle already shaped by war, sanctions and geopolitical rivalry.

(With inputs from ANI)