Paris criticizes the regime in Tehran, but says “a military intervention is not the preferred option” of France. Message of support for the Iranian people
French Minister of the Armed Forces, Alice Rufo. Credit: Telmo Pinto/NurPhoto / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
The French minister of the armed forces, Alice Rufo, said that the Iranian people must be supported, in the context of the anti-government protests in the country and the repression unleashed by the authorities, but that “it is up to them to get rid of this regime”, reports AFP.
“I think we have to support the Iranian people in any way possible,” Rufo said on the political show “Le Grand Jury.”
However, “a military intervention is not the preferred option” of France, the minister said, adding that “it is up to the Iranian people to get rid of this regime.”
She pointed out how difficult it is to “document the mass murders the Iranian regime has committed against its own population” because internet access has been blocked by the authorities in Tehran.
Iran's more than 90 million people have been largely disconnected from the internet since authorities ordered a blackout on January 8 amid major anti-government protests in the country.
Thousands of victims
The Iranian regime is accused of launching a violent crackdown on protesters under the cover of this blackout. Human rights organizations have documented thousands of deaths, and Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights says the final toll could be more than 25,000.
The Iranian government put the death toll at 3,117, saying they included 2,427 “martyrs”, a term used to distinguish between security forces personnel and innocent civilians, on the one hand, and those described by authorities as “participants in the uprising”, which they say were instigated by the US and Israel, on the other.
“The Iranian people reject their regime. The fate of the Iranian people belongs to the Iranians and it is not up to us to choose their leaders,” the French minister of the armed forces said.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to launch military strikes on Iran in response to the crackdown, but has since backed off the threats and said Tehran has suspended planned executions.
The protests in Iran began on December 28 amid discontent over the economic situation, but have morphed into broader demonstrations against the theocratic regime in Tehran, which has ruled the country since the 1979 revolution.
