Iran lodges protest with German envoy

Rift over UN Rights Council vote backed by Berlin to probe response to protests

Iran yesterday summoned the German ambassador to protest last week’s UN Human Rights Council decision, based on a resolution co-sponsored by Berlin, to probe Iran’s response to nationwide protests.

It is the third time since the demonstrations started more than two months ago that Tehran has called in Berlin’s representative. At an urgent session requested by Germany and Iceland, the UN’s highest rights body voted on Thursday to create a highlevel investigation into Iran’s deadly crackdown.

The state news agency IRNA said Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had called in Germany’s ambassador, Hans-Udo Muzel, “following the initiative of Germany to hold a special session” of the UN rights council “about the recent events in our country”.

‘Useless’ resolution

Iran on Friday said it “totally rejects” the “useless” resolution and would not recognise the fact-finding mission created by the rights council. The foreign ministry reiterated this argument.

“The hasty and instrumentalised use of the human rights question and the adoption of political approaches to pressure independent countries should definitively be condemned,” ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said at his weekly press conference. “These actions will not contribute to the promotion of human rights.”

In October Iran’s foreign ministry summoned Muzel to protest comments by German officials which “incite riots” in Iran. Earlier this month, the ministry again called in Berlin’s representative following remarks by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who asked: “What kind of government are you that shoots at its own citizens?”

Iran labels the protests “riots” which it says were encouraged by Western countries.