German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the days of the current Iranian rulers are numbered amid mass protests in Iran, DPA reported, BTA reported.
"If a ruling regime can only hold on to power through the use of violence, then its days are effectively numbered", Merz said during a visit to Bengaluru, India. "I suppose we may now be witnessing the last days and weeks of this regime," he added.
The German Chancellor already condemned yesterday the actions of Iranian security forces against protesters, describing them as "disproportionate" and "violent".
Since December 28 last year, Iran has been gripped by the most serious wave of protests in years. The initial protests by Iranian merchants against the sharp devaluation of the Iranian rial and the deteriorating economic situation quickly grew into demonstrations against the hardline rulers throughout the country, DPA notes.
Activists claim that security forces have suppressed the protests in a particularly brutal manner, using tear gas and firing live ammunition, not blanks.
For its part, the Oslo-based human rights organization "Iran Human Rights" says at least 648 people have been killed since the protests began.