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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday hit back at France after it condemned Iran on human rights grounds, saying Paris had lost any claim to moral superiority because of its support for Israel.
Araghchi responded on X to France’s criticism of executions and detentions in Iran, including the execution of protesters.
“Countries like France should stop preaching to the world about human rights and international law,” Araghchi said.
“The hypocrisy is obvious and shameful,” he added.
“Your support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and aggression against Iran has destroyed any moral superiority you attribute to yourselves,” Araghchi said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday that the European Union and 26 countries had condemned “the execution of protesters and arbitrary detentions” in Iran in a joint statement.
More than 30 countries, including France, Britain and Canada, condemned Iran’s use of capital punishment, saying Tehran was executing protesters to “silence dissent.”
The countries, joined by the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, “condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty” by Iran, according to the statement.
“The use of capital punishment to silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights can never be justified,” the statement said.
“The people of Iran must be free to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear,” it added.
After the initial 26 countries and Kallas, other countries joined the declaration, bringing the number of signatories to 32, the French Foreign Ministry told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Germany and several other European nations were among those calling on Iran “to immediately end the use of the death penalty and release all those arbitrarily detained.”
The joint statement follows growing alarm from the United Nations U.N. and rights groups over a surge in executions in recent months, after Iran was rocked by nationwide anti-government protests earlier in the year and the start of the Middle East war in February.
Earlier in August, U.N. rights chief Volker Turk said the death penalty was being used by Tehran to “instil fear.”
According to the U.N., at least 56 people have been executed on national security-related charges since March 19, including 27 people in cases linked to the protests.
Turk said more than 100 others are at risk of being put to death on similar charges.
The U.N. and rights groups have warned of a lack of fair trials and forced confessions.
In late December last year, a protest movement initially sparked by the high cost of living turned into widespread anti-government demonstrations.
Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths but attributed the violence to “terrorist acts” orchestrated by the United States and Israel.
Rights groups based abroad recorded a far higher toll and said security forces had fired on demonstrators.
“Seven months after the mass atrocities committed against the Iranian people, who rose up to demand justice and dignity, the regime continues to shed blood by carrying out a growing number of executions,” Barrot said in an X post with the statement.
The United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on Feb. 28, triggering the Middle East war.
Since then, arrests and executions have multiplied in Iran, linked to both the conflict and the protests.
Last year, Iran put to death more than 2,150 people, according to Amnesty International, making it again, by a wide margin, the world’s most prolific executioner after China.
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