Tehran accuses Merz of 'hypocrisy' over nuclear site attack criticism

Tehran has accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of "hypocrisy" in response to his criticism of an attack on nuclear facilities in the United Arab Emirates. 

In a post on X written in German, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Tuesday condemned Merz's silence on US-Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities during the conflict in the Middle East. 

Merz on Monday blamed Tehran for airstrikes on the UAE and warned "attacks on nuclear facilities pose a threat to the safety of people throughout the entire region."

But Baqaei said the principle "must apply equally to all states - and not merely when it serves the West's political opportunism."

"The hypocrisy is obvious," he said, while calling the latest attacks on the UAE a "suspected false-flag operation."

The accusations came after a drone attack on Sunday caused a fire in an electricity generator at the Barakah nuclear power plant west of Abu Dhabi.

The UAE’s Defence Ministry later said that three drones approaching from the west had entered the country’s airspace. Two were intercepted, while a third struck a power generator outside the plant’s inner security perimeter. Investigations into the attack are ongoing, it added.

Since the end of February, the UAE has reported close to 3,000 Iranian attacks involving missiles, drones and cruise missiles. The country has borne the brunt of such attacks since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28.

Barakah is the most important source of electricity in the UAE, with its four reactors providing around a quarter of national demand. The Korean-designed facility is the first nuclear power station in the Arab world.