The spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denounced as “interventionist” the recent anti-Tehran remarks by some European Parliament members, urging the EU not to allow such statements to hurt bilateral relations and the course of dialogue between the two sides.
In a statement on Wednesday, Nasser Kan’ani said remarks by some EP members regarding Iran’s domestic issues show European politicians act under the influence of misinformation campaigns or at best biased consultations provided to them.
He specifically cited “unsubstantiated allegations” regarding prisoners in Iran and the country’s institutions. Those remarks were made in a meeting convened to assess the situation in Iran following the 2022 death of an Iranian girl named Mahsa Amini and the ensuing unrest.
Western states have time and again accused Iran of cracking down on “peaceful protests” in the country.
But Iran says the unfortunate death of Amini, which was caused by her illness, was used as an excuse for widespread rioting enabled by several foreign intelligence agencies and that the country had to act to protect public order by confronting the rioters.
EP’s positions damaged Iran-EU ties
Kan’ani said the EP’s anti-Iran positions over the last year indicate the insistence of some European Parliament members on pursuing a confrontational stance towards the Iranian people and government.
“These positions and remarks are in line with the continuation of a failed policy towards the realities of Iran’s society and people, and also show their unpreparedness and confusion in the face of Iran’s resilience, rationality and authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.
The Iranian official said employing logic of interventionism and resorting to “futile” political and propaganda pressure tactics further reveals the “lack of seriousness as well as insincerity” of some people in Europe in pursuing the policy of interaction with Iran.
The Iranian spokesman urged the European Union not to allow its institutions to make such “unconstructive and baseless” remarks that complicate their “purported efforts” to keep dialogue with Iran.
“The anti-Iran positions of the European parliament over the past year have to a great deal damaged the Iran-EU relations. We hope these people learn a lesson from their failures in understanding Iran’s developments in recent years, come to realize the realities soon and make up for such untrue positions and remarks,” he said.
The European Parliament has taken various anti-Iran moves over the past years that have drawn objections from Iran.
Back in November, in an undiplomatic move, lawmakers in the European Parliament cut “direct contact between European Parliament delegations and committees with official Iranian counterparts” over what they claimed to be Iran’s “unacceptable” sanctioning of several members of the house.
The lawmakers further voiced support for foreign-instigated rioters, saying, “We will not look away from those who look to us on the streets of Iran. We are with you. We will stay with you.”
Moreover, earlier that month, the European Union imposed sanctions on a number of Iranian institutions and individuals, including Press TV, over alleged “rights violations” following the recent foreign-backed riots in the country.
Also in October, the EU foreign ministers decided to levy sanctions against several Iranian individuals and entities over the country’s response to the foreign-backed riots.
A week later, Iran announced tit-for-tat sanctions against institutions and individuals in the EU due to their deliberate actions in support of terrorism and terrorist groups.
This comes as the EP in May hosted the ringleader of the anti-Iran terrorist cult the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) which has murdered thousands of Iranian citizens to discuss the foreign-backed riots in Iran.
Also, the parliament in January adopted a resolution that called for designating Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, a branch of the country’s armed forces, as a terror group.
