Iran summons German envoy, accusing Berlin of meddling in its internal affairs

By Haydar Sahin

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - Iran summoned Germany’s ambassador Thursday over "meddlesome" remarks by a number of German officials concerning the ongoing unrest in the country.

In his meeting with Hans-Udo Muzel, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said the stances taken by German officials including Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock were unacceptable and irresponsible and had provoked riots in the country, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The deputy foreign minister for political affairs touched on the comments by some German officials that provoked rioting and law-breaking in Iran, describing such irresponsible stances as a breach of the rules and principles of international law and incompatible with the tradition of the long relations between the two countries, saying they are unacceptable," it added.

Mahsa Amini, 22, died in mysterious circumstances last month after being detained by the country's morality police for wearing "inappropriate dress.”

Angry protests which first broke out in the city of Sanandaj in western Iran later spread across the country.

Wednesday marked 40 days since her death and saw fresh protests in several cities, including the capital Tehran, amid heavy deployments of police on the streets.

The incident sent shockwaves across the world, with many Western governments issuing strongly-worded statements of condemnation which were not well-received by the Iranian government.