Several European states have called upon Iran's ambassadors in connection with the brutal suppression of anti-government protests for more than 2 weeks. Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and France have taken coordinated diplomatic action in consequence to reports of mass violence, arbitrary arrests and net blocking by the Iranian authorities.
The German Ministry of abroad Affairs reported on platform X following the call of Iran's Ambassador to Berlin: «The violent actions of the Iranian government towards its own people are shocking. We call on Iran to halt force against its own citizens and respect their rights». The Netherlands made a formal protest against violent suppression of demonstrations. abroad Minister David van Weel described the usage of force against civilians as “extremely disproportionate” and pointed to mass arbitrary arrests and net and communications blockages.
Head of Spanish diplomacy Jose Manuel Albares stressed in an interview with Catalan radio on Tuesday that «the right of Iranians to peaceful demonstrations and freedom of speech should be respected». The Ministry of abroad Affairs in Madrid called for an Iranian diplomat.
Condemnation of Violence
The head of Italian diplomacy and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani informed the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday of the call of the Iranian Ambassador to Rome. He stated: «In those days men and women in Iran are fighting on the streets, paying the highest price of blood, suffering, imprisonment and possibly torture. All this is absolutely unacceptable».
The head of British diplomacy, Yvette Cooper, stated in the home of Commons on Tuesday: «The UK condemns in the harshest words the cruel and brutal killings of Iranian protesters and demands that the Iranian authorities respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of its citizens». The head of the French MFA Jean-Noel Barrot reported that the government in Paris “depressed the repression with as much as possible, criticising this state violence... against peaceful demonstrators”.
The Genesis of Protests
Protests in Iran began due to a strike caused by a sharp fall in the value of the national currency and a hard economical situation. However, they rapidly became political and demonstrators direct their opposition against the government and the Ayatollah. According to the opposition portal Iran International, the demonstrations took over 200 cities.
Iranian police are utilizing weapons and teardrop gas to fuel demonstrators. Independent media and NGOs estimation deaths from over 500 to 12 000 people.
Note: This article was created utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI).