Press TV - Iran has condemned German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass's remarks concerning the recent riots in the Islamic Republic following a decision to increase gasoline prices as “irresponsible and interventionist.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said in a statement on Thursday night that such comments do not remedy the failure of some European countries to honor their commitments under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), besides their incapability to stand against "US economic terrorism" on Iran.

“The world public opinion has not yet forgotten the country that armed former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein with the chemical warfare, which was used against Iranians and their Iraqi counterparts during the imposed war (1980–88) on Iran,” Mousavi noted.

The senior Iranian official went on to say that people still remember how German riot police suppressed protesters on the eve of the two-day G20 summit in the port city of Hamburg back in July 2017, and how weapons are being funneled by certain European states to the Middle East, where they have brought about nothing other than war crimes, destruction and massacre of women and innocent children as seen in Yemen.

Mousavi also called on Berlin "to put honoring the fundamental principles of human rights on the agenda discreetly, comprehensively and neutrally, than to take up unprofessional and biased positions" against Iran.

He highlighted that the Iranian government welcomes the peoples' criticisms, saying, “The Islamic Republic of Iran sharply distinguishes enemies, those behind the murder of innocent people and their foreign sponsors from protesters. It will take the necessary measures based on probe findings and in line with respect for Iranians’ rights and sustainable security.”

Earlier in the day, Mass claimed that hundreds of people had been killed during the recent riots in Iran, and condemned security forces over use of force against rioters and anarchists.

The Iranian government raised gasoline prices on November 15 in order to moderate the national consumption rate, which stands at 110 million liters per day, 40 million liters above the maximum daily domestic requirement.

The move prompted some peaceful protests, but riotous elements, taking advantage of the circumstances, quickly entered the scene, destroying public property, setting banks and gas stations ablaze among other facilities, and opening fire on people and security forces.

The director general of the anti-espionage department of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry said on November 27 that the country's security forces had arrested eight people linked to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the recent riots over gasoline price hikes.

A number of elements that were seeking to collect information on the riots and transfer it to foreign countries were identified and arrested before they could carry out their mission, the official said.