In June 2019, in a press conference held in Tehran between Mohammad Javad Zarif Minister of Foreign Affairs and Heiko Maas Minister of Foreign Affairs, openly gay German journalist Paul Ronzheimer of the tabloid Bild asked Zarif "Why are homosexuals executed in Iran because of their sexual orientation?", to which Zarif defended the execution of gay people on 'moral principles' by responding that his "society has principles. And we live according to these principles. These are moral principles concerning the behavior of people in general, and that means that the law is respected and the law is obeyed."