Iran’s Foreign Ministry has strongly rejected what it described as “baseless and selective accusations” made by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz against the Islamic Republic over a mysterious failed explosion near a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates.

In a post on X late on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei criticised Merz for invoking international law and regional security only when it suits Western political interests, while ignoring what he described as clear acts of aggression against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities, News.Az reports, citing Iran’s English-language Press TV.

“Mr Friedrich Merz, hypocrisy becomes evident when a clear attack by the United States and the Zionist regime on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which are under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is not only not condemned, but is effectively justified,” Baghaei wrote.

“Yet, regarding an incident that was a false-flag operation by the enemies of peace and regional harmony — and even the UAE has not officially blamed Iran for it — suddenly the language of ‘international law’ and ‘regional security’ is invoked,” he added.

Baghaei said any genuine concern for the safety of nuclear sites and the people of the region must be applied equally and without double standards.

“If an attack on nuclear facilities is considered a threat to the people of the region, this principle must apply equally to all countries, not only when it serves Western political interests,” he stated.

The spokesperson concluded his remarks with a literary reference drawn from German literature, comparing what he called Merz’s selective judgment to the character of Judge Adam in Heinrich von Kleist’s play The Broken Jug.

“In German literature, such ‘selective judgment’ is reminiscent of ‘Judge Adam’ in the play The Broken Jug. He is the very judge whose own wrongdoings should be judged, yet he pretends to be a defender of justice,” Baghaei wrote.

News.Az