TEHRAN – The Iranian chargé d'affaires to the UK has castigated the German envoy to London for pushing for punitive measures against Iran over Ukraine.

The Iranian diplomat, Seyed Mehdi Hosseini Matin, said Germany should be ashamed of its hypocritical behaviors, including not honoring its commitments under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Earlier, German Ambassador to the UK Miguel Berger had reiterated allegations that Iran has sent drones to Russia. 

“Iran should face more sanctions for helping Russia sow terror among civilians in Ukraine with kamikaze drones,” Berger said, according to Al Alam.

“Germany with history of aggressions, talking about punishing a civilized nation! Unsubstantiated allegations. Iran’s legal foreign relations with others is not subject to interference,” the Iranian diplomat said in response to Berger.

He added, “Germany should be ashamed of its past behavior, failure to fulfill its commitments (JCPOA) & hypocrisy.”

He also called on Germany not to interfere in Iran’s “legal” foreign relations.

Tensions have been on the rise between Iran and the West over European and American allegations that Iran sold drones and intends to sell missiles to Russia, something that Iran roundly rejected. 

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani has rejected as untrue claims that Iran has sent arms including military drones [to Russia] to be used in the Ukraine war.

Kanaani said such baseless claims that are made based on false information and spiteful assumptions are part of the targeted and political propaganda campaign waged by the media of some countries against the Islamic Republic of Iran.  He noted that Iran is ready for talks with Ukraine to dispel such allegations.

Kanaani pointed to Iran’s active neutrality in the Ukraine war. He noted that the Islamic Republic of Iran has opposed the continuation of the war from the beginning of the conflict, stressing the need for the cessation of hostilities and finding a negotiated settlement of disputes. 

The spokesman underlined that in that vein, the Iranian foreign minister has held numerous meetings and contacts with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts.

Kanaani underscored at the end that, by adopting a transparent and unwavering stance, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always stressed the need to respect the basic principles of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries including Ukraine based on the principles and goals of the UN Charter and international law.