TEHRAN – The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that the Europeans’ concerns about human rights in Iran are a sheer lie.

“If they truly held such concerns, they would lift the sanctions that they know are imposed on every single Iranian and that deprive our patients of medicine and treatment,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told a regular weekly news briefing.

He added, “Such claims do not appear sincere to any fair-minded and informed individual.”

Baghaei also denounced certain Western European leaders for adopting a hostile stance toward the unrest in Iran, saying these positions are by “no means acceptable or justifiable.”

Among the European leaders, German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz took the harshest tone against Iran, saying that the Islamic Republic is living through its “final days and weeks.”

Baghaei said European officials are consciously and deliberately ignoring the existing realities in Iran.

“The European parties are well aware of what happened between January 8 and 10 when the peaceful gatherings of people were turned violent due to the presence of terrorist and violent elements who had been trained and armed outside of Iran,” he stated, adding, “Despite knowing this reality, they launched an intense campaign against Iran—both in the United Nations Security Council session and through their own media outlets.”

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Iran on Thursday at the request of the United States. Along with the U.S., Britain, and France – the three members of the UN Security Council – along with Denmark, levelled unsubstantiated accusations against Iran in regard to the riots in Iran.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman said behind these positions “lies no purpose other than destabilizing Iran and promoting violence and chaos within the country.”

Europe must refrain from instrumentalizing Iran’s unrest to mend its rift with US

The spokesman also said Europe is using the unrest in Iran as a pretext to heal its rifts with the United States. 

Europe has been at odds with Washington over the Ukraine war, tariffs, and the U.S. threat to annex Greenland.

“By blindly following the United States and the Zionist regime, Europe deprives itself of playing an effective role in international affairs. There is also a view that Europe seeks, through full alignment with the United States on regional issues, merely to repair the existing rifts in its relations with Washington.” 

No embassy closure in Iran

The Foreign Ministry spokesman also dismissed rumors that Western European countries have closed their embassy in Tehran.

“We did not have any embassy closures. Some diplomatic missions active in Iran, due to internet outages that caused difficulties for certain embassies and because of the tensions that arose in the country, temporarily withdrew a number of their personnel from Iran. However, the names and figures announced in this regard are exaggerated.”

Iran keeping contact with IAEA

Baghaei also said Iran, as a signatory to the NPT, is in constant contact with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Our relationship with the Agency has been transparent and clear. We are a member of this institution, we are a party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and we are committed to the Safeguards Agreement. Within this framework, our contacts with the Agency are maintained, and one of the duties of our mission in Vienna is precisely to manage relations and maintain communication with the Agency,” the spokesman explained.