German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that he hopes the current leadership in Iran will exercise less repression against its own people and has spoken about this with other participants at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in France.
He made his comments on the sidelines of the meeting on the shore of Lake Geneva.
Merz responded to a question from a journalist about what the agreement between the United States and Iran on a framework deal meant for the Iranian people. The German leader noted his comments came with reservations.
"But this is not something we can regard as guaranteed. And we can only express our hope, and also our demand once more, that the population in Iran now has the chance to participate politically in all future decisions. And that this regime stops permanently increasing the pressure on its own people," Merz said.
He added that there had been repeated discussion of the many victims of the "mullah regime" in Iran in recent months.
The Islamic Republic was proceeding against its own population and against demonstrations in the country with brutal aggression and wholly unacceptable means, he added.
