Iran pushes back at Merz: Hold US and Israel accountable, not Tehran
Baghaei rejects Merz’s call for Iran to stand down, urging Germany to press US and Israeli aggressors to end strikes and face accountability for their actions
By Abdullahi Yusuf
Iran has sharply criticised German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after he urged Tehran to halt its military operations amid the ongoing conflict involving the United States and Israel.
In a statement posted on social media late on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described the appeal as “beyond absurd”, saying Iran was responding to what he called an unprovoked war launched against the country.
Baghaei said Germany should instead direct its demands towards Washington and Tel Aviv, which Tehran accuses of initiating the conflict through coordinated strikes on Iranian territory.
“Why not direct your calls to the ruthless aggressors responsible for bombing and killing Iranians?” he wrote, urging Berlin to call for accountability over what he described as “brutal aggression”.
The remarks come amid a rapidly escalating confrontation in the region following large-scale attacks by the United States and Israel on Iranian military and political targets.
Iranian officials say the strikes began on 28 February and involved aerial attacks on a number of military and civilian facilities across the country. Authorities in Tehran report extensive damage to infrastructure and a rising number of casualties.
Iran says its armed forces have since carried out retaliatory operations, launching waves of missiles and drones at Israeli positions and at facilities linked to the United States across the region.
The conflict intensified further following the reported killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who had led the Islamic Republic for more than three decades.
Iranian state media said the country’s clerical body, the Assembly of Experts, subsequently appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the new leader of the Islamic Republic.
The developments have raised fears of a broader regional war, as fighting between Iran, the United States and Israel continues to expand and threatens to draw in other countries across the Middle East.
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