Iran slams France FM’s remarks as ‘height of hypocrisy and duplicity’

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has strongly criticized recent comments made by France’s foreign minister about Iran, calling them “hypocrisy and duplicity.”

In a post written in French on X on Friday, Esmaeil Baghaei said, “Mr. Minister, it appears that hypocrisy and duplicity have remained among the defining characteristics of the French political culture to this day.”

He also referred to French writer Molière and his famous play Tartuffe or the Hypocrite, saying, “The same vice that Molière accurately described in the play Tartuffe or the Hypocrite in 1664: ‘Hypocrisy has become a fashionable vice.’”

Baghaei accused France of staying silent while Iranian cities were reportedly attacked, saying French officials did not speak out during what he described as recent aggression against Iran.

“At a time when Iranian cities were being brutally bombarded and innocent Iranians were being savagely massacred in Minab, Tehran, Lamard, Isfahan, and elsewhere, you remained silent and in fact collaborated with the aggressors,” he wrote.

He added that France only raises human rights concerns when it suits its political interests.

“Today, in line with your regime’s political interests, your conscience has suddenly and selectively awakened, and you brazenly preach about the human rights! What hypocrisy and duplicity!”

The comments came after French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France would oppose lifting UN sanctions on Iran unless ongoing negotiations meet Paris’s expectations regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme.

Barrot also made remarks about Iran’s missile programme and its regional role, which Tehran described as interference in its internal affairs.