Iran Condemns Germany, France Ahead of EU Sanctions

Demonstrators during a 'Freedom' protest on Ukraine and Iran in Cologne last week (dpa)
Demonstrators during a 'Freedom' protest on Ukraine and Iran in Cologne last week (dpa)
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Iran Condemns Germany, France Ahead of EU Sanctions

Demonstrators during a 'Freedom' protest on Ukraine and Iran in Cologne last week (dpa)
Demonstrators during a 'Freedom' protest on Ukraine and Iran in Cologne last week (dpa)

European Union foreign ministers are due to impose more sanctions on Iran on Monday, while Tehran condemned France and Germany for their positions on the Iranian protests.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry described German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's pledge to intensify pressure on Tehran as "provocative, interfering, and undiplomatic."

Scholz had spoken about the protests sweeping Iran and announced his support for imposing new EU sanctions on Iran.

At one point, he addressed the Iranian government directly, asking: "What kind of government does it make you if you shoot at your own citizens? Those who act in such a way must expect us to push back."

Meanwhile, German police announced that a man attacked Iranians in Berlin at a protest in support of women's freedom and democracy in their homeland.

On Saturday night, the police said a 26-year-old man destroyed banners and threatened some Iranian activists with a knife. No one was injured, and the man was arrested, police added.

The German State Protection Office, which handles terrorist attacks, was involved due to suspicions that the attack was politically motivated.

Commenting on the German positions, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that some human rights claimants had forgotten their dark record against the "dignified and resistant people of Iran" while offering blind and inhumane support for the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam and maintaining the unjust US sanctions after its withdrawal from the nuclear agreement.

Kanaani noted that "they are also keeping silent vis-a-vis the ISIS terror acts, the latest of which is the terrorist group's attack on Shah Cheragh Shrine."

He noted that Germany presented itself as a human rights defender by evading its international responsibility to respect the right of state sovereignty while harboring anti-Iran terrorist and separatist groups and adopting a selective and "double standard approach towards the crimes committed by the child-killing Zionist entity."

The spokesman reiterated that Iran had a long list of human rights demands from the German authorities, so Berlin had to be responsibly transparent regarding its past.

Kanaani called on German officials to restore rationality to the mutual ties and prevent more turmoil, adding that "respect for common interests was the only way for lasting cooperation."

Tehran also criticized French President Emmanuel Macron, who received four Iranian activists, including the daughter of one of the victims of the recent protests, describing his statement as "regrettable and shameful."

During the meeting on the sidelines of a Paris Peace Forum, Macron emphasized France's respect and admiration in the context of the revolution they are leading.

Macron received a delegation of four Iranian women: Masih Alinejad, a New York-based Iranian activist who encourages Iranian women to protest against the obligatory headscarf, Shima Babaei, who campaigned for justice for her disappeared father, Ladan Boroumand, the co-founder of Washington-based rights group Abdurrahman Boroumand Center, and Roya Piraei whose mother Minoo Majidi was killed by security forces at the start of the protest crackdown.

After the meeting, Macron told a conference in Paris of his "respect and admiration in the context of the revolution they are leading."

Referring to Alinejad, Kanaani said it was "surprising that the president of a country that stands for freedom would degrade himself by meeting" her, alleging that she had "tried to spread hate and carry out violent and terrorist acts in Iran and against Iran's foreign diplomatic missions."

Alinejad wrote on Twitter: "In my bilateral meeting with the French President, I said what's happening in Iran is a revolution. France can be the first country to recognize it. Instead of Islamic Republic (officials), meet opposition figures in future and prepare EU to accept a secular Iran."



Rubio to Make First Asia Trip as Trump Unveils Tariffs on Host and Allies

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacts as he testifies at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on US President Donald Trump's State Department budget request for the Department of State, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, May 20, 2025. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacts as he testifies at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on US President Donald Trump's State Department budget request for the Department of State, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, May 20, 2025. (Reuters)
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Rubio to Make First Asia Trip as Trump Unveils Tariffs on Host and Allies

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacts as he testifies at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on US President Donald Trump's State Department budget request for the Department of State, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, May 20, 2025. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacts as he testifies at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on US President Donald Trump's State Department budget request for the Department of State, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, May 20, 2025. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Malaysia this week to attend meetings of Southeast Asian Nations in his first trip to Asia as America's top diplomat, the State Department said on Monday.

The department announced the July 8-12 trip, billed as a move to reaffirm Washington's commitment to the Indo-Pacific, just hours before President Donald Trump said he would impose 25% tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea, the key US allies in the region and vital partners in countering China's growing might, as well as on Malaysia.

Trump also announced 40% tariffs on Laos and Myanmar, which along with Malaysia are members of ASEAN.

Rubio will take part in meetings with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose ministers are gathering in Kuala Lumpur and will also meet with senior Malaysian government officials, the State Department said.

Rubio will seek to firm up US relationships with partners and allies unnerved by Trump's global tariff strategy and the president's announcements look certain to dampen the mood.

The trip has been seen as part of a renewed US focus on the Indo-Pacific and an effort to look beyond conflicts in the Middle East and Europe that have consumed much of the Trump administration's attention.

"Top topics that he's going to want to hit, obviously, are to reaffirm our commitment to East Asia, to ASEAN, to the Indo-Pacific, and not just ... for its own sake," a senior State Department official told reporters.

"I think a key message that the secretary likes to deliver is that we're committed, and we prioritize it because it is in America's interests, right? It promotes American prosperity and it promotes American security."

The official said Rubio would be prepared to discuss trade, including reiterating that the need to rebalance US trade relationships is significant and echoing messages from the White House and US Trade Representative.

ASEAN countries have been nervous about Trump's tariffs and questioned the willingness of his "America First" administration to fully engage diplomatically and economically with the region.

"There is a hunger to be reassured that the US actually views the Indo-Pacific as the primary theater of US interests, key to US national security," said Greg Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The White House said twelve other countries after Japan and South Korea will receive trade letters informing them of new tariffs to take effect from August 1.

Trump said on Sunday the US was close to finalizing several trade pacts and would notify other countries by July 9 of higher tariff rates. He also sent a message to BRICS group of developing nations as its leaders met in Brazil, threatening an additional 10% tariff on any aligning themselves with "anti-American" policies.

The BRICS includes ASEAN member Indonesia, as well as China and India.

Trump announced last week he had reached a trade agreement with important Southeast Asian partner and ASEAN member Vietnam and could reach one with India, but cast doubt on a possible deal with Japan, which is not only Washington's main Asian ally, but a major investor in the United States.

Rubio has yet to visit Japan, or South Korea, the other main US ally in Northeast Asia, since taking office in January, even though Washington sees the Indo-Pacific as its main strategic priority given the perceived threat from China.

South Korea's presidential security adviser Wi Sung-lac headed to Washington on Sunday for trade and defense talks, with Seoul seeking to head off US tariffs. He aims to meet with Rubio and discuss a possible summit between Trump and President Lee Jae Myung, who took office last month.