Iran summons German, British envoys over calls to extend 2022 protest probe

Iran's foreign ministry has summoned the British and German envoys over their calls to extend the mandate of a U.N. fact-finding mission investigating mass protests in 2022, local media reported Thursday.

The fact-finding mission was formed in November 2022 after nationwide protests in Iran following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the country's dress code for women.

Her death triggered months of demonstrations, with hundreds of people, including dozens of security personnel, killed in the unrest and thousands of protesters arrested.

In a Tuesday statement, Britain said the "human rights situation in Iran remains appalling" and called on the U.N. Human Rights Council to let the fact-finding mission continue its investigations.

Local media in Iran reported that the foreign ministry had summoned the British charge d'affaires and Germany's ambassador over what it called their "anti-Iranian approaches".

It also slammed the "submission of a draft resolution by these two countries to extend the mandate of the so-called fact-finding mission", according to the Tasnim news agency.

On Tuesday, Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the UN office in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, slammed Britain and Germany's "hypocritical behavior."

He further criticized the fact-finding mission, saying its reports on Iran were "a compilation of lies and false accusations."