France says concerned about reports of many deaths in Iran protests

The French government said on Wednesday it was deeply concerned about reports of many deaths during protests in Iran and called on Tehran to respect its international human rights duties.

France “expresses its deep concern over reports of the deaths of many demonstrators in recent days,” Foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll told reporters in a daily online briefing.

“France calls on Iran to respect its international human rights obligations,” she added.

On Wednesday, Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran over US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s support for protesters demonstrating about fuel price hikes, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Iran told the Swiss envoy, who represents US interests in the Islamic Republic because Iran and the US do not have formal diplomatic ties, that the official US statements were an interference in Iran’s internal affairs.