TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivered a blistering rebuke on Saturday of the Munich Security Conference, saying the Western-led gathering is abandoning seriousness, promoting political theatre and rewarding destabilization in Iran while sidelining legitimate Iranian diplomacy.
In a post on his X account, Araghchi lamented that a forum once known for sober, high-level security conversations had devolved into what he called the “Munich Circus” when it comes to Iran.
He said that the conference’s exclusion of Iran’s official representatives — a response by the Munich organizers to international criticism over domestic protest issues — reflects not strength, but confusion and bias.
“Sad to see the usually serious Munich Security Conference turned into the ‘Munich Circus’ when it comes to Iran,” Araghchi wrote, underscoring that superficial posturing has overtaken substantive engagement.
“This decline, with performance preferred over substance, holds important messages,” he added, pointing to a broader failure of Western policy toward regional stability.
Araghchi did not hold back in blaming Western governments — particularly those in Europe and the United States — for enabling and amplifying riots inside Iran.
Much of the West’s rhetoric around human rights and protests has translated into tacit support for violent rioters and extremist actors, fostering division and empowering terrorists rather than genuine civic voices.
Iranian officials have repeatedly asserted that foreign powers, especially the U.S. and Israel, exploit internal strife to weaken Iran and spread disorder. They say the United States and Israel are attempting to sow chaos in the country by backing disruptive rioters and extremists, rather than engaging in honest dialogue over mutual interests.
Araghchi also lambasted the West’s punitive economic measures, including extensive sanctions which Tehran argues are unlawful and counterproductive. These sanctions — often justified by Western capitals as responses to protests or alleged human rights violations — have instead inflicted hardship on ordinary Iranians and undermined efforts at fruitful negotiations.
European Union sanctions adopted in recent weeks were criticized by Iran as evidence of misplaced priorities, penalizing the nation over politicized narratives rather than seeking shared security frameworks.
“The EU appears confused, rooted in an ability to understand what is happening inside Iran,” Araghchi wrote.
Europe’s role at Munich was another focal point of Araghchi’s criticism. Once viewed in Tehran as potential mediators and interlocutors, European powers “is now nowhere to be seen”, he said, adding “instead, our friends in the region are far more effective and helpful than an empty-handed and peripheral E3”.
“Europe used to be central party in dialogue but now its role has become negligible,” he wrote, lamenting that European diplomacy appears beholden to narratives driven by external interests rather than balanced engagement.
He went further, asserting that an aimless European Union and Western alliance have lost their geopolitical weight in Iran’s neighborhood and beyond, ceding diplomatic ground and influence to actors prepared to engage substantively.
“Strategically, an aimless EU has lost all geopolitical weight in our region. Germany, specifically, is leading the way in wholly surrendering its regional policy to Israel,” he said.
“Europe’s overall trajectory is dire, to say the least. What does this all mean, in practical terms? The paralysis and irrelevance of the EU/E3 is displayed in the dynamics surrounding the current talks over Iran’s nuclear program,” Iran’s top diplomat noted.
Earlier this month, Araghchi said the “political naivety” of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has cost Germany its role in the Iran talks.
In a post on his X account, Araghchi responded to Merz, who in an earlier post on X had expressed his country’s readiness to “further increase the pressure and to engage in talks” aimed at bringing Iran’s nuclear program to a swift end.
Araghchi said Iranians have unfortunately witnessed several other examples of the German chancellor’s “political naivety and distasteful character.”
He added that in New York last September, the European troika—France, Germany, and Britain—at Merz’s insistence, withdrew from the nuclear negotiations by seeking the restoration of UN sanctions against Iran.
“Now, Merz is begging to be allowed back into the same negotiations,” Araghchi wrote.
The foreign minister also noted that Merz expressed “exuberance” following Israel’s killing of over 1,000 Iranians in June 2025, and he publicly speculated that the Islamic Republic was on the brink of collapse, claiming it could be mere weeks away.
Araghchi said the German people have made significant contributions to humanity through their hard work and ingenuity, adding that Iran has consistently welcomed a robust relationship with Germany.
“It is therefore doubly regrettable that an individual such as Mr. Merz now represents Germany on the world stage,” he wrote.
The top Iranian diplomat expressed hope that a more mature and honorable political leadership would return to Germany.