French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Friday that the international community should not forget the deadly crackdown on Iranian protesters earlier this year, arguing that ordinary Iranians have emerged as the biggest victims of both the conflict and its aftermath.
Speaking to Franceinfo television, Barrot said the Iranian population had been caught between state repression and the devastation caused by war.
“The Iranian people are the biggest victims of this war, caught between repression on one side and bombings on the other,” he said.
The French minister also referenced the government’s response to anti-regime demonstrations in January, describing them as “massacres” and accusing Iranian authorities of using force against peaceful protesters.
“We are not forgetting the massacres of January, when state violence indiscriminately targeted peaceful protesters,” Barrot said.
His remarks come as international attention remains focused on the humanitarian and political consequences of the recent conflict involving Iran, with concerns continuing over both civilian suffering and the country’s domestic human rights situation.
(with inputs from Reuters)
