Iran’s Foreign Ministry came out swinging against German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday, accusing Berlin of applying double standards when it comes to international law, particularly after Merz publicly condemned what he described as Iranian airstrikes on the United Arab Emirates’ Barakah nuclear facility while justifying US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei pointed directly at what he called glaring hypocrisy from Western nations. “Open attacks by the United States and the Israeli regime on Iran’s secured nuclear facilities do not provoke condemnation, but rather excuses and justifications,” he wrote.
Baghaei also took aim at the nature of the accusations themselves, noting that even the UAE has stopped short of officially attributing the drone strike to Iran. “When a supposed false-flag operation takes place — one whose authorship even the UAE has refused to officially attribute to Iran — those same voices suddenly invoke the solemn language of ‘international law’ and ‘regional security,'” he said.
The spokesperson argued that if protecting nuclear facilities from attack is truly a principle worth defending, it should apply universally — not selectively.
“This principle must apply equally to all states, and not merely when it serves the West’s political opportunism,” Baghaei stated.
In a particularly sharp rhetoric, Baghaei reached for German literature to make his point, invoking the character of Judge Adam from playwright Heinrich von Kleist’s classic comedy The Broken Jug — a corrupt judge who sits in judgment of others while concealing his own guilt. Iran’s state news agency ISNA echoed the comparison, describing Merz as “the same judge whose crimes must be judged, but who pretends to be a defender of justice.”
Baghaei’s invocation of Judge Adam from Heinrich von Kleist’s The Broken Jug was meant to portray Germany as morally hypocritical in its criticism of Iran. In Kleist’s play, Judge Adam publicly presents himself as a guardian of justice while secretly being guilty of the very wrongdoing under investigation. By comparing German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Judge Adam, Iranian officials suggested that Berlin condemns Iranian military actions and warns against escalation while allegedly ignoring what Tehran sees as Western double standards and the actions of its regional allies.
The remarks came a day after Merz took to X to strongly condemn what he called “renewed Iranian airstrikes” against the UAE and other regional partners. “Attacks on nuclear facilities pose a threat to the safety of people throughout the entire region. There must be no further escalation of violence,” the German chancellor wrote.
Notably, the incident, which is at the centre of the dispute, happened on Sunday when the UAE confirmed that a drone struck an electricity generator located outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Al Dhafra region.
Authorities said the power plant itself suffered no damage, but the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack in the strongest terms, calling it a “terrorist attack” and a “flagrant violation of international law.”
The UAE also called on the international community to uphold IAEA standards protecting peaceful nuclear infrastructure, warning that such attacks posed grave risks to civilians, the environment, and broader regional stability.
