TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani in a tweet on Tuesday has censured German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock for commenting on human rights in the Islamic Republic, recounting Berlin’s complicity in the war crimes committed by the regime of ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980s imposed war.
Kan’ani said the European Union “won’t accept” alleged Iranian human rights violations.
“It is very unlikely that the German foreign minister is not aware of the Iranian people’s mentality towards chemical gases and substances and their connection with the German government,” he wrote.
“How does she give herself the right to talk about the human rights of the Iranian people as her government is responsible for equipping the Saddam regime with chemical weapons as well as killing and poisoning thousands of Iranian citizens!”
He also posted pictures showing the aftermath of Iraq’s chemical bombardment of the Iranian city of Sardasht on June 28, 1987.
Over 100 people were killed in the attack and thousands more were exposed to chemical agents.
After more than three decades, many of the survivors of the crime still have to live with the long-term respiratory and even psychological effects of inhaling mustard gas.
The Baath regime of Iraq used mustard gas and nerve agents against civilians in Sardasht in 1987. The Iraqis dropped seven bombs in urban areas including two bombs in a marketplace, two bombs in a residential district, and three bombs in nearby garden.
The population of Sardasht was estimated at 12,000 at the time. Many of the 95% who survived the gas attack later developed serious long-term complications, including serious respiratory problems, eye lesions, skin problems, as well as problems with their immune system.