Iran on Tuesday criticised remarks by Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul over the Strait of Hormuz, calling them a “shameful” distortion of reality and an attempt to deflect attention from Berlin’s own responsibilities.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, in a post on X, said Wadephul’s comments on the strategic waterway represented a “grotesque distortion of reality” and accused Germany of seeking to avoid accountability.
“The German Foreign Minister’s rhetoric on the Strait of Hormuz is utterly shameful — a grotesque distortion of reality that reeks of Mephistopheles in Goethe’s Faust,” Baqaei wrote.
He alleged that Germany should be held responsible for its “complicity in military aggression against Iran” and claimed that no statements by Berlin could absolve it of responsibility for the “illegal actions and war crimes against the Iranian people.”
The comments came after Wadephul said Iran should ultimately bear the cost of any international operation to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz.
Wadephul, in an interview to a German publication, said there was no need to offer Tehran incentives for allowing a mine-clearing mission in an international shipping lane.
He added that while Germany and its European partners would not initially charge Iran for removing the mines, “in principle, however, it would be justified, and Iran ought to foot the bill, since we would be remedying damage caused by the regime.”
Wadephul said Germany remained open to participating in an international mission to restore safe navigation through the strait, but any deployment of German forces would require a clear legal and political framework.
He said the feasibility of a German military role in mine clearance would depend on the security situation, approval from regional countries — particularly Oman and Iran and the progress of US-Iran negotiations.
Last month, Germany sent the minesweeper Fulda and the supply ship Mosel from the eastern Mediterranean towards the region as a preparatory measure. The vessels crossed the Suez Canal in mid-June and are currently stationed in Djibouti for resupply. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said he was considering recalling the two naval vessels.
Iran has repeatedly opposed any foreign military involvement in securing the Strait of Hormuz, maintaining that responsibility for the waterway rests with the countries bordering it and warning outside powers against deploying forces in the region.
