Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday pressed Germany to release any findings into German companies suspected of supplying materials for chemical weapons deployed by Saddam Hussein during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.
Hussein, Iraq’s former president, used chemical weapons extensively against Iranian forces and Iraqi Kurds during the conflict.
“The truth must prevail, and those who supported Saddam’s chemical weapons program must be held responsible,” Araghchi told the 30th annual Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in The Hague on Tuesday.
In December 2002, Berlin daily Die Tageszeitung reported that Germany was the country whose companies contributed most to Baghdad’s efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction, citing documents Iraq submitted to the United Nations.
“We urge Germany to release the results of its past investigations and commit to full and transparent investigations about the involvement of its companies and nationals in enabling Saddam’s atrocities,” he said.
Relations between Berlin and Tehran are at a low ebb after Germany joined France and Britain in September in reimposing international sanctions on Iran for what the European powers see as defiance of UN nuclear inspections.
Tehran had also bristled at comments by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a surprise military campaign on Iran in June in which he described the attacks as "dirty work Israel is doing for all of us."
Araghchi said Iran’s unanimous election to the Chemical Weapons Convention Executive Council — the 41-member policy-making body of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons — was “a meaningful step for all who believe in a world free of chemical weapons.”
“As a nation that has suffered deeply from Saddam’s chemical attacks during the 1980–1988 war on our people, Iran carries enduring wounds that still affect tens of thousands of victims and their families,” he said.
Araghchi attended the conference with Kamal Hoseinpur, a lawmaker from Sardasht, a city in Iran’s northwest near the border with Iraq that was hit by Iraqi chemical attacks in 1987.
Araghchi described Sardasht as “a global symbol of resistance, suffering and the call for justice.”
“The people of Sardasht endured chemical attacks whose consequences continue even today, made worse by unjust US sanctions that restrict access to vital medicines and medical care,” Araghchi said.
Araghchi contrasted Germany with the Netherlands, where Dutch businessman Frans van Anraat was convicted in 2005 for supplying Iraq with chemicals used to produce mustard gas during the 1980s.
“The judicial investigations by Dutch authorities which led to the prosecution and conviction of one Dutch individual is appreciated,” he said. “However, we all know that it was the very minimum and showed only the tip of the iceberg.”
“Justice for the victims is overdue, and their calls for justice must never be forgotten,” he added.
Araghchi's comments come as Iran's own government came under scrutiny after security forces used an unidentified "green gas" against protestors during the nationwide protests in 2022 after a young woman, Mahsa Amini, died in morality police custody.
In November 2022, videos were posted on social media that showed thick green smoke wafting through the streets in Javanrud in Western Iran as security forces there confronted protesters.
The German newspaper Bild reported in 2018 that Berlin had approved a license for a company to sell technology with potential military applications to Iranian firms which were ultimately used by the Syria in domestic chemical weapons attacks.
“If I were a decision maker, I would have joined the plan endorsed by Saudi Arabia, which conditions recognition of Israel on its acceptance of a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders,” he said.
Safavi, 44, the son of former Revolutionary Guards commander Yahya Rahim Safavi, added: “Israel will never accept the two-state solution, but Iran would demonstrate it has no intention of undermining the internationally recognized order.”
He stressed he spoke personally and not for the state.
Safavi also said recognition of Israel is “impossible under Ayatollah Khamenei’s leadership,” while allowing that “in the long term, no one knows.”
The article said debate over Iran’s direction has widened among well-connected figures after a brief war with Israel in June.
Other prominent voices cited by the outlet include Faezeh Hashemi – a former lawmaker and daughter of ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani – who said Iran should re-establish diplomatic ties with Washington and take “meaningful steps towards substantial change.”
The article also referenced figures from influential families who have at times diverged publicly from hardline positions, including cleric the grandchild of the Islamic Republic’s founder Hassan Khomeini, his brother Ali, and lawyer Hassan Younesi, the son of a former intelligence minister.
The article emphasized that their comments reflect a broader discussion inside elite circles rather than an official policy shift.
There is no indication Iran’s leadership plans to adopt the proposals described, the Financial Times said, adding that the debate may gain importance as the country looks ahead to eventual succession for the 86-year-old Supreme Leader.
Afarin (Masoumeh) Mohajer was detained on September 29 by security forces at Tehran's Khomeini International Airport, her son Reza Zarrabi told Iran International.
Human rights organizations had previously reported her arrest but said she was detained upon arrival in Tehran. His son, however, said she was arrested as she attempted to fly back to the United States.
Zarrabi, who is based in Frankfurt, said authorities detained his mother to pressure him into ending his political activism against Tehran’s Islamic theocracy. He calls himself a Republican and Liberal Democrat.
“We are aware of the detention of a US citizen in Iran and are closely tracking reports of this case,” the State Department spokesperson said in an email response when asked if Washington is aware of Mohajer’s detention.
"The Department of State has long warned Americans not to travel to Iran and that is particularly true now," the spokesperson added.
Zarrabi described his mother as warm and attached to him after he lost two siblings to suicide. She belonged to no political groups, he said.
Mohajer had travelled to Iran to attend to matters relating to an inheritance, Zarrabi added. She now faces charges he called false, including "membership in hostile groups, propaganda against the Islamic Republic on social media, insulting the Supreme Leader and insulting the religion (of Islam)."
Zarrabi said he has been a political activist for 14 years and a member of Iranian opposition think thanks, but that his mother had no role in his activities.
Mohajer is being held in the women’s section of Ward 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, Zarrabi added, saying she called last week to plead with him to stop his dissident activities and believes Iranian intelligence agents coerced her.
Zarrabi expressed worries for her health in prison as she suffers from brain cancer and is certain that she is not receiving medical treatment.
“I have no doubt that she is a hostage and a victim of the Iranian government’s hostage-taking toward the United States,” he said.
Relations between Tehran and Washington are at a low ebb after the United States joined a surprise Israeli military campaign on the country in June, attacking three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iran has long detained foreign and dual nationals whom it eventually releases in exchange for political or financial concessions.
"Anyone with a US connection, including dual US-Iranian nationals, is at significant risk of questioning, arrest, and detention in Iran," the State Department told Iran International in its statement.
"Iranian authorities routinely delay consular access to detained US nationals. In particular, Iranian authorities consistently deny consular access to dual US-Iranian nationals."
In a post on his LinkedIn account, Abedini said he was released from custody on Monday night after several days in detention by US immigration authorities.
“I’m relieved to share that I was released from custody tonight. It was a deeply distressing experience, especially seeing those without the support I had,” he wrote on LinkedIn, thanking colleagues and academic associations for their help.
Abedini “was detained for standard questioning and was released," The New York Times reported on Tuesday citing Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.
Joshua Landis, the director of Middle East studies at the university, said on X that Abedini was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while boarding a flight to Washington DC to attend the Middle East Studies Association conference and was taken to jail on November 22.
"He has been wrongfully detained because he has a valid H-1B visa —a non-immigrant work visa granted to individuals in 'specialty occupations,' including higher education faculty. We are praying for his swift release," Landis wrote.
According to the University of Oklahoma’s website, Abedini is an Iranian studies professor whose work focuses on elite politics, technology and foreign policy.
The University of Oklahoma declined to discuss the matter and ICE did not respond to an Iran International request for comment.
A search of the ICE detainee database shows a record for Vahid Abedini, listing his country of birth as Iran and his status as “in ICE custody.”
According to Iranian media, Abedini has long been active in Iran’s reformist political circles and was a member of student Islamic associations at Tehran University.
Abedini was a signatory to a statement issued by reformists during Iran’s 2024 election supporting Masoud Pezeshkian.
Abedini received his master’s and PhD in political science from Florida International University, where he also taught as an adjunct professor before joining the University of Arkansas as a visiting assistant professor.
Iranian scholar and former State Department adviser Vali Nasr described Abedini's arrest as "wrongful detention."
"He is a respected scholar and teacher, and according to his employer, the University of Oklahoma, his visa is valid. I and all his is friends, colleagues and students call for his immediate release and to his work at the university," Nasr said on X.
