Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has criticised France and other Western countries for what he described as their hypocrisy over human rights and international law, accusing them of supporting Israeli and US actions against Iran and Palestinians.

Araghchi made the comments in a post on X on Thursday after France’s Foreign Ministry said 32 countries, including France, the UK and Canada, along with the European Union’s foreign policy chief, had issued a joint statement condemning Iran’s use of capital punishment against foreign-linked rioters.

“Countries like France should stop lecturing the world about ‘human rights’ and international law. The hypocrisy is blatant and embarrassing,” Araghchi said.

He accused these countries of undermining their own claims to uphold international law by backing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and US-Israeli attacks against Iran.

“Your backing of Israel’s genocide in Gaza — and aggression against Iran — has destroyed whatever moral high ground you imagined you had,” he added.

Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza in October 2023, and the conflict has killed at least 73,388 Palestinians and injured 174,259 others.

Israel and the United States also launched two rounds of military aggression against Iran.

The first took place in June 2025, while a second campaign began on February 28 and ended in early April after 40 days.

Foreign powers backing unrest

Araghchi’s remarks came amid Western criticism of Iran’s handling of unrest that erupted in Tehran and several other cities in January.

The protests initially began over economic grievances at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar before escalating into violent clashes and unrest, according to Iranian authorities.

Iranian officials have accused foreign intelligence agencies of exploiting the demonstrations as part of an effort to destabilise the country’s government.

They said armed rioters and militants attacked security personnel and set fire to public and private property, including shops, buses and mosques, particularly on January 8 and 9.

Iranian officials have linked the violence to the United States and Israel.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has alleged that armed rioters received training from US and Israeli intelligence agencies.

Iranian authorities have warned that the US supported riots inside Iran to disintegrate the country and plunder its oil and other natural resources.