TEHRAN — Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has criticized Germany and other European countries for 'contradictory positions' on the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran, highlighting the contrast between Berlin’s earlier endorsement of Israeli attacks and its more recent warnings against renewed military action. In a post on his X account on Sunday, Baqaei juxtaposed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s remarks in June 2025, when he described Israel’s aggression against Iran as “the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us,” with warnings issued by Germany’s foreign minister and other European officials in October 2026 against renewed attacks on Iran.
“June 2025: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking about Israel’s aggression against Iran, said: ‘This is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us’,” Baqaei wrote. “October 2026: German Foreign Minister (and others) warn against renewed attacks on Iran and stress the need to prevent further escalation,” he added. To underscore his criticism, the Iranian spokesperson concluded his post with a quotation from German writer Friedrich Schiller’s play The Maid of Orleans, invoking the image of reason being dragged helplessly into the abyss by madness.
The quotation reads: “O exalted Reason, bright daughter of the divine mind, wise architect of the universe and guide of the stars—who are you, then, if, bound to the tail of the wild horse of madness, you must watch helplessly, crying out, as you are dragged alongside that drunken rider into the abyss?” Baqaei’s message drew attention to the contrast between Berlin’s earlier response to Israel’s military action against Iran and its current calls to prevent further escalation, questioning the consistency of the European position on the conflict.
The Tehran Times reports Esmaeil Baqaei's post contrasting Friedrich Merz's June 2025 'dirty work' remark with October 2026 German warnings against renewed attacks on Iran. In its own voice, in the headline and the opening sentences, the outlet calls the US and Israeli attacks 'aggression' and a 'war of aggression'. Its own earlier reporting attributed that description to an Iranian official. The quotes from Baqaei and Merz are reported accurately.
States one side's claim as fact
Minor
“US-Israeli aggression”
Why this matters
The headline puts 'contradictory' in quotation marks as Iran's word, but leaves 'US-Israeli aggression' outside them, in the outlet's own voice.
The impression it gives
The reader takes it as an established fact, stated by the paper, that the attacks were aggression, rather than as Iran's description of them.
The context
Calling the attacks aggression is the Iranian government's characterisation. The outlet's own earlier report attributed 'wars of aggression' to Iran's UN envoy.
“when he described Israel’s aggression against Iran as”
Why this matters
The outlet inserts its own word 'aggression' into its account of what Merz described. Merz's quoted words contain no such term.
The impression it gives
A reader may think Merz himself spoke of Israeli 'aggression', or that the paper's label is a neutral description of the June 2025 strikes.
The context
Merz's quoted words in the article are only 'This is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us'. 'Aggression' is the outlet's label, laid over his remark.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“This is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us”