Germany Urges Iran to Allow Protests after Summoning Ambassador

People attend a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
People attend a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Germany Urges Iran to Allow Protests after Summoning Ambassador

People attend a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
People attend a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Germany summoned the Iranian ambassador in Berlin on Monday in order to urge Tehran to stop its violent crackdown on nationwide protests over the death of a woman in police custody, the German foreign ministry said.

"We call on the Iranian authorities to allow peaceful protests and to not deploy further violence - in particular not fatal violence - against protesters," the ministry said on Twitter. "We also communicated that directly to the Iranian ambassador in Berlin today."

Asked about the possibility of further sanctions on Tehran in response to the violence, a ministry spokesperson had earlier said, "we will consider all options" with other European Union states.

Last week, the United States imposed sanctions on Iran's morality police over allegations of abuse of Iranian women.

Washington said it held the unit responsible for the Sept. 16 death of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini after she was detained by morality police enforcing the country's strict restrictions on women's dress.



NATO Chief Rutte Says Zelenskiy's Criticism of Germany's Scholz is Unfair

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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NATO Chief Rutte Says Zelenskiy's Criticism of Germany's Scholz is Unfair

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he considered the sometimes harsh criticism of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be unjustified, news wire DPA reported.
Although Germany has been a vital ally of Ukraine, its hesitation in providing long-range Taurus cruise missiles has been a source of frustration in Kyiv, which is battling a foe armed with a powerful array of long-range weaponry, Reuters reported.
"I have often told Zelenskiy that he should stop criticizing Olaf Scholz, because I think it is unfair," DPA quoted Rutte on Monday as saying in an interview.
Rutte also said that he, unlike Scholz, would supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles and would not set limits on their use.
"In general, we know that such capabilities are very important for Ukraine," Rutte said, adding that it was not up to him to decide what allies should deliver.
After a November telephone call by Scholz with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in November, Zelenskiy said it had opened a Pandora's box that undermined efforts to isolate the Russian leader and end the war in Ukraine with a "fair peace".