Iran Raps France’s Double Standards on Human Rights

Asked about the arrest of Iranian woman Mahdieh Esfandiari in France, Esmaeil Baqaei said at a press conference on Monday that the Foreign Ministry is duty bound to protect the rights of the citizens no matter where an Iranian person has been harassed.

The spokesperson denounced the “arbitrary arrest” of the Iranian woman in France, saying she has been apprehended on the basis of groundless accusations and solely because of supporting the Palestinian people.

Calling for the release of Esfandiari, Baqaei said her arrest reveals France’s double standards on human rights.

The spokesperson also lashed out at France for submitting an application against Iran to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), saying France is utilizing a legal organization as a tool.

In a post on his X account on Sunday night, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi debunked the French government’s fake support for human rights and decried its backing for the Israeli regime’s atrocities against Palestine.

“There have been many transgressions making a mockery of France's ‘human rights activism’. But perhaps nothing has made the hypocrisy as stark as the French approach to the Israeli regime and its war crimes,” Araqchi said.

“Spare us Iranians the lectures. You have no moral authority whatsoever,” the top Iranian diplomat told the French authorities.