TEHRAN Aug 13, 2026 — Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Thursday sharply rebuked France and a group of Western nations for criticizing Iran’s use of the death penalty, accusing them of hypocrisy and double standards on human rights and international law.
In a post on X, Araghchi wrote: “Countries like France should stop lecturing the world about ‘human rights’ and international law. The hypocrisy is blatant and embarrassing. Your backing of Israel’s genocide in Gaza—and aggression against Iran—has destroyed whatever moral high ground you imagined you had.”
The comments came in direct response to a joint statement issued Wednesday by France, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and more than two dozen other countries. The statement “condemn[ed] in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” describing capital punishment as a tool “to silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights.”
Signatories, which included the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, New Zealand and others, called on Tehran to “immediately end the use of the death penalty and release all those arbitrarily detained.” They also urged Iranian authorities to “listen to the voice of its people as they demand change, and to take meaningful steps toward ensuring respect for human rights.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot highlighted the statement, noting that seven months after mass protests in Iran, the authorities continued to carry out executions. Reports from rights groups and the United Nations have documented a rise in executions linked to security-related charges following earlier unrest.
Araghchi’s response framed the Western criticism as selective, pointing to European support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza—which Iran and others have labeled a genocide—and what Tehran describes as aggression against Iran itself in recent years, including U.S.-Israeli strikes. Iranian state media echoed the foreign minister’s line, arguing that France’s moral authority had been undermined by its positions on those conflicts.
The exchange marks another escalation in tensions between Tehran and Western capitals amid ongoing disputes over human rights, regional security, and the fallout from earlier military confrontations. No immediate official reply from the French Foreign Ministry to Araghchi’s remarks was reported Thursday morning.
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