Iran slams France鈥檚 Macron for 鈥榤eddlesome鈥� support of protests

Macron on Wednesday said France 鈥渟tands by鈥� the protesters in Iran. (AFP)
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  • Iran has been rocked by a month of protests

TEHRAN: Iran鈥檚 government on Friday condemned French President Emmanuel Macron for remarks in which he expressed solidarity with protesters angry over the death of Mahsa Amini.
The Islamic republic has been rocked by a month of protests since Amini died after being arrested by the morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating the country鈥檚 strict dress code for women.
Macron on Wednesday said France 鈥渟tands by鈥� the protesters in Iran and expressed his 鈥渁dmiration鈥� for women and youths demonstrating in the country, while condemning what he called 鈥渞epression鈥� by the authorities.
In a statement, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said the French leader鈥檚 remarks were 鈥渕eddlesome鈥� and served to encourage 鈥渧iolent people and law breakers.鈥�
Kanani said it was 鈥渟urprising鈥� that Paris was condemning Iran鈥檚 security forces for dealing with 鈥渧iolent people and rioters鈥� while it was threatening to use force in response to 鈥渓abor strikes in the oil and gas sector鈥� in France.
鈥淭his is clear hypocrisy and proves once again that human rights in the dictionary of many pretentious Western governments are nothing more than a toy and a tool to achieve political goals and interfere in the affairs of other countries,鈥� he added.
Macron鈥檚 government has forced some refinery workers back to work to open fuel depots after three weeks of blockades, a move that infuriated unions but was upheld by a court on Friday.
Four of the country鈥檚 seven refineries remain shut, and around a third of France鈥檚 service stations are either low on petrol or completely dry, according to the energy transition ministry.