Tehran criticises West over “selective application of international law”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has addressed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a post on the social media platform X, accusing the West of double standards in assessing attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“Mr Friedrich Merz, hypocrisy is evident. Open attacks by the United States and the Israeli regime on protected nuclear facilities in Iran receive no condemnation, only justification and excuses. However, if a supposed false-flag operation occurs — for which even the UAE has refused to officially attribute responsibility to Iran — the same voices suddenly resort to solemn rhetoric about ‘international law’ and ‘regional security’,” Baghaei said.

Herr Friedrich Merz,
Die Heuchelei ist offensichtlich. Offene Angriffe der Vereinigten Staaten und des israelischen Regimes auf die gesicherten Atomanlagen des Iran stoßen nicht auf Verurteilung, sondern auf Ausreden und Rechtfertigungen. Wenn jedoch eine mutmaßliche… pic.twitter.com/fj16LaCb5f

— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) May 18, 2026

He added that if attacks on nuclear facilities pose a threat to people in the region, this principle must apply equally to all states, not only when it suits Western political interests.

“If attacks on nuclear facilities threaten the people of the region, then this principle must be applied equally to all states — not only when it is convenient for Western political circumstances,” he noted.

The Iranian diplomat also drew a parallel with Judge Adam from Heinrich von Kleist’s The Broken Jug, saying Western selective justice resembles a figure who dares to condemn others while being guilty himself.

“This selective sense of justice is reminiscent of Judge Adam from Heinrich von Kleist’s The Broken Jug: a man whose own unjust actions literally demand a verdict, yet who, in pompous self-righteousness, dares to sit on the judge’s chair,” he wrote.

By Jeyhun Aghazada