The full text of the interview is as follows.
DER SPIEGEL: Mr. Foreign Minister, the "execution” of the death sentence against the German national Jamshid Sharmahd, as announced by the official website of the Iranian judiciary the Monday before last, came as a shock to Germany. In response, the German government closed Iran’s consulates in Germany and relations are now at an all-time low. How did Jamshid Sharmahd die?
Araghchi: The Germans are apparently ignoring the fact that Jamshid Sharmahd was responsible for the 2008 explosion at a mosque in Shiraz that killed 14 people and injured more than 200. When he was living in the United States, he proudly talked about his actions in television interviews. He said: "We started a war with the Islamic Republic and we are killing them.” That is a crime. Mr. Sharmahd was arrested as an Iranian because the Islamic Republic does not recognize dual citizenship. He was transported to Iran and received a fair trial in court. He was convicted as a terrorist under Iranian law and sentenced to death.
DER SPIEGEL: Sharmahd was abducted while traveling in Dubai and reportedly tortured. By international standards, he did not receive a fair and transparent trial, was not allowed to choose his own lawyer and did not receive adequate medical care while in custody. It isn’t clear precisely what role he may have played in the 2008 attack you mentioned.
Araghchi: Torture is forbidden in the Islamic Republic and it doesn't make sense either, since Mr. Sharmahd publicly confessed to his actions. He did not want a self-selected lawyer, the evidence mentioned is available. Jamshid Sharmahd is a terrorist and it would be nice if German society and the German authorities took note of this. I cannot understand the noise, the uproar and the political propaganda surrounding this case.
DER SPIEGEL: Was Jamshid Sharmahd hanged?
Araghchi: The judiciary's statement does not really mention an execution. Admittedly, the statement by the Tehran prosecutor's office is vague on this point.
DER SPIEGEL: Are you saying that Jamshid Sharmahd was not executed at all?
Araghchi: I am saying that Mr. Sharmahd is no longer in this world. And the question of whether he was executed or died of natural causes is beside the point. When death comes, it comes. I regret that this is straining German-Iranian relations and I wish I could have prevented it. But to do that, the German government would have had to cooperate and communicate that this is a terrorist, instead of defending someone who has trampled all humanitarian standards underfoot. We immediately shared the available information about Mr. Sharmahd’s death with the German government.
DER SPIEGEL: Why is Sharmahd's body not being released?
Araghchi: If his family officially submits a request, we see no obstacles to doing so. If his family wants, we are also willing to have an autopsy performed.
DER SPIEGEL: At least five other German citizens, along with many other European and American citizens, are still being held in Iranian prisons. Among them two tourists, 69 and 25 years old, in addition to an elderly German-Iranian woman and other European and American citizens. At least in the case of three German citizens, one gets the impression that they are being held as bargaining chips to negotiate the release of Iranians currently being held in Western prisons.
Araghchi: For 20 minutes you have been asking questions about the death of a terrorist, but for the deaths of 50,000 people in Gaza we have seen no condemnation from the German government, no support for a resolution in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, no sanctions. The Israeli Embassy and Israeli consulates have not been closed. The murder of the Palestinian people by Israel is not important to you. It is this arrogance of Europe that has led to the current conflict. Set aside your double standards for once, and then maybe we will have a chance for understanding!
DER SPIEGEL: Both the German government and many Germans find what is happening in Gaza terrible. Berlin initially curbed the authorization of weapons exports to Israel at the end of 2023 and has almost entirely stopped them since March 2024.
Araghchi: When did you stop supplying weapons? After you had supplied Israel with all the weapons it needed to destroy the homes of the population in Gaza and kill women and children? How often have the Israelis' actions been condemned by the Germans? The U.S. supplied Israel with everything it needed until last week. You shouldn't be so self-righteous.
DER SPIEGEL: You may have forgotten that this war began with an attack on Israel by Hamas, an Iranian ally. On October 7, 2023, Hamas killed around 1,200 people and took 250 hostages – a monstrous crime. Israel had every right to defend itself.
Araghchi: That was a decision made by Hamas. They didn't include us. Only history will tell if this decision was appropriate. In any case, this operation is the result of 80 years of occupation of the land of the Palestinian people, their expulsion, and murder. Two million people were robbed of their self-determination and put in a big prison called "Gaza.”
DER SPIEGEL: And that justifies the mass murder of over a thousand innocent Israelis?
Araghchi: The Palestinian people should not be punished for what the Germans did to the Jews.
DER SPIEGEL: Let's talk about Iran. Your country is suffering from more than 30 percent inflation, poverty is becoming widespread and a majority of the population strictly rejects the authoritarian-religious leadership in addition to its alliances with militias in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Gaza. Can you explain to the Europeans, to the Germans, what goals the Islamic Republic is pursuing with this policy – other than propping up its own system?
Araghchi: I suppose I have to accept that you and the Western world have never understood the Islamic Revolution in Iran and our ideals. The Iranian Revolution fought against a dictatorship and a despotic regime that was dependent on the United States. The slogan of the revolution in Iran was "independence – freedom.” That is why we have been supporting all those who share these ideals ever since. Unlike you, I am not calling Hamas, Hezbollah, and others "proxies.” I call them freedom movements. Supporting them brings no benefits to Iran.
DER SPIEGEL: The Hezbollah militia in Lebanon plays a central role in Iran's defense.
Araghchi: You call anyone who acts against Western policy a terrorist, and anyone who acts in accordance with Western policy is one of the good guys. That's Western double standards. That's a misguided policy.
DER SPIEGEL: After the rapprochement seen over the last decade, Europe and Iran have now become estranged. Today, you are on the side of the so-called Axis of Resistance, the loose alliance of violent, anti-Western forces. You are a close ally of Russia and President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted internationally for war crimes in Ukraine. Iran supplies him with drones and missiles, while North Korea is sending soldiers. Is that really the company Iran wants to be keeping?
Araghchi: We have never approved of Russia's attack on Ukraine. To this day, we support and defend Ukraine's territorial integrity.
DER SPIEGEL: Drones, missiles and abstention in the UN on the Russian invasion: Is that how you support the Ukrainians?
Araghchi: We have been living under the policy of maximum pressure from the United States, supported by Europe, for decades. They are not in a position to tell us what we can sell and to whom! Or what we are not allowed to sell! Despite everything, Iran has not sold Russia any ballistic missiles, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed a few days ago.
DER SPIEGEL: Yet Western secret service agencies claim to have intelligence that such missiles have been delivered.
Araghchi: We have proposed talks on Ukraine to Europe. But if the Europeans are more interested in making Ukraine the subject of confrontation rather than cooperation, that is their choice, not ours. I hope you are aware that the Russian-Iranian relationship only came about in response to Germany's behavior?
DER SPIEGEL: What do you mean by that?
Araghchi: After the 1979 revolution, Germany left Iran alone. We were forced at the time to turn to Russia to finish our project in Bushehr
DER SPIEGEL: ... a nuclear reactor for the peaceful use of nuclear energy ...
Araghchi: ... to be completed. The initial construction contract had been signed with Siemens.
DER SPIEGEL: And it was signed by the government in Tehran at the time, which the revolutionaries overthrew. When governments cease to exist, contracts often become invalid.
Araghchi: The Iranian nuclear industry began with German help. If the Germans had stayed, Iran's nuclear program might be on a different track today. The German government has made mistakes at various points in history. Be careful not to make any more mistakes now!
DER SPIEGEL: That sounds like a threat. What do you mean?
Araghchi: We negotiated in good faith with three European countries, including Germany, along with Russia, the United States and China for two and a half years. I led those negotiations. We reached a compromise that the world celebrated as a product of diplomacy. We have honored all agreements. Then the United States suddenly withdrew from the treaty in order to reinstate its sanctions.
DER SPIEGEL: This withdrawal from the 2018 nuclear deal under then-and-future President Donald Trump came as a shock to all parties to the agreement.
Araghchi: The three European countries promised to make up for it, which they couldn't. Maybe they didn't want to. We showed goodwill. On your side, that goodwill was not seen.
DER SPIEGEL: You know very well that the European governments were willing to compensate for the damage. But European companies were pressured by the U.S. to not do business with Iran if they didn't want to lose their U.S. business. Is that a reason to deliver drones and missiles to Russia?
Araghchi: Are you seriously trying to pass judgment on Iran because of the sale of a few small and light weapons to Russia? That is an unfair way of looking at it.
DER SPIEGEL: Could there be new negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program?
Araghchi: We would face major challenges, because the treaty expires on October 25, 2025, and we need a new agreement. In any case, we are ready to get involved and enter into negotiations with countries in the region. As for our cooperation with Russia, I am ready to talk to the Europeans. Let's engage in dialogue and avoid sanctions.
DER SPIEGEL: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has pushed for a UN investigation into the violent crackdown on protests in Iran in 2022, in which hundreds of demonstrators were killed. She is also campaigning in Europe for the Revolutionary Guards to be listed as a terrorist organization – the consequences of which would be further sanctions on your country. Do you fear that she could be successful?
Araghchi: Sanctions only complicate the problems. They have never helped to solve a problem, at least not in Iran. My message is: Forget the sanctions! They didn't work in the past, they aren't working now and they won't work in the future.
DER SPIEGEL: What is your proposal?
Araghchi: My question to the Germans is why have you suddenly taken a confrontational approach with Iran, despite your positive experiences with negotiations? If the Europeans, if the Germans want to take a confrontational approach, that is of course their decision, not ours.
DER SPIEGEL: Mr. Minister, thank you for this interview.
