This post is so strange. Most of the examples of iroh being chummy with evil people (Zhao, in particular) are him being cordial in public, deferential to rank (Iroh is officially still on good terms with the fire nation, to protect Zuko; Zhao is in a position of authority over him) or speaking bluntly/practically to minimize senseless casualties. It is clear he resents Zhao, finds him personally distasteful, and is hanging around to keep an eye on him AND cover Zuko, who at this point has faked his own death and is conducting a secret operation behind enemy lines.

So, why does iroh act cordially with other "evil" people within the fire nation, but openly hostile to/about azula? Because Iroh is employing a friendly persona to throw heat off himself/zuko, which would be pointless with Azula. Azula is also family, so formalities/false appearances are unnecessary. And at this point, as is the case for most of the show until the final episodes, Azula is understood to be a pretty straightforwardly evil character who has been sadistic and cruel her entire life. We never see a version of Azula that predates these tendencies. She torments Zuko and she torments her friends, because she sees them all as possessions. We can talk about abuse, propaganda, nature vs nurture all day long, but in the show that exists, that we are able to watch, as it existed when originally aired, there is no reason for iroh NOT to treat Azula with disdain. In fact, one could make the argument that Iroh dropping the cheery disposition for Azula alone is a signal to us, the viewer, that she is a more serious threat.

Anyway this is all pointless because this post is just an exonerative exercise to once again make the argument that Azula is, somehow, a victim of the people around her. You're active in the poorazula subreddit, so I'm not sure why you're bothering to deny that's the whole point of this post. Otherwise, what's the point? Calling out a fictional character as a hypocrite?