Tehran [Iran], May 19 (ANI): Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Tuesday sharply criticised German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, accusing the Western country of applying 'selective' standards on international law and regional security issues involving Iran.

In a post on X, Baghaei said, 'The hypocrisy is obvious. Open attacks by the United States and the Israeli regime on Iran's secured nuclear facilities do not provoke condemnation, but rather excuses and justifications.'

https://x.com/IRIMFA_SPOX/status/2056474866518229144

He added that, 'When a supposed false-flag operation takes place--one whose authorship even the UAE has refused to officially attribute to Iran--those same voices suddenly invoke the solemn language of 'international law' and 'regional security'. '

Baghaei argued that concerns over attacks on nuclear facilities should be applied consistently to all countries. 'If attacks on nuclear facilities threaten the people of the region, then this principle must apply equally to all states--and not merely when it serves the West's political opportunism,' he stated.

The Iranian spokesperson also invoked a literary comparison drawn from German playwright Heinrich von Kleist's work 'The Broken Jug', accusing the country of moral double standards.

'This selective sense of justice recalls Judge Adam in Heinrich von Kleist's 'The Broken Jug': a man whose own inexcusable misconduct cries out for judgment, yet who presumes, in pompous self-righteousness, to take a seat on the judge's bench,' Baghaei said.

The Iranian news agency ISNA, while interpreting the spokesperson's remarks, compared the 'selective arbitration' to the character of 'Judge Adam' in 'The Broken Jug', describing the German Chancellor as 'the same judge whose crimes must be judged, but he pretends to be a defender of justice.'

Earlier, on Monday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz strongly condemned the strikes targeting the United Arab Emirates' Barakah nuclear facility, warning that attacks on nuclear infrastructure threaten the safety of people in the West Asia region.

Merz, in a post on X, expressed concern over the growing regional instability and stressed the need to prevent any further escalation that could endanger civilian lives and critical infrastructure.

'We strongly condemn the renewed Iranian airstrikes against the United Arab Emirates and other partners. Attacks on nuclear facilities pose a threat to the safety of people throughout the entire region. There must be no further escalation of violence,' Merz stated in his post.

The UAE on Sunday confirmed that an attack targeting an electricity generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Al Dhafra region was carried out by a drone.

The UAE strongly condemned the attack and termed it a 'terrorist attack' and clarified that no damage was incurred on the power plant.

The UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said that these attacks constitute a dangerous escalation, an unacceptable act of aggression, and a direct threat to the country's security and stressed that the targeting of peaceful nuclear energy facilities is a flagrant violation of international law, the UN charter, and the principles of humanitarian law, given the grave risks such acts pose to civilians and the environment, as well as regional and international security.

UAE further emphasised that relevant international standards and agreements, including the principles and relevant resolutions of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), underscore the necessity of protecting peaceful nuclear facilities and safeguarding their safety and security from any hostile acts or military threats. (ANI)