The head of EU foreign policy, Josep Borel, tried to distance the EU and the Slovenian prime minister’s remarks at a meeting of Iranian opposition organizations that angered Tehran on Monday (July 12).
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs slammed the Slovenian Prime Minister Jan Sha’s participation in the “Free Iran” meeting of the People’s Mujahideen in exile (MEK) and summoned the country’s ambassador.
Slovenian Prime Minister Jan Sha #IranThe people deserve democracy, freedom and human rights, and they deserve the firm support of the international community. The regime must be held responsible for human rights violations. #FreeIran2021https://t.co/as6lOrWZmR
-Iranian People’s Jihad (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 10, 2021
Yang Sha told the meeting in an online message that “the Iranian people deserve democracy, freedom and human rights, and they deserve the firm support of the international community”.
He also demanded that “the Iranian regime must be held responsible for human rights violations.”
Borel stated that the statement of the Slovenian leader “absolutely cannot” reflect the EU’s position, even though the country currently holds the EU’s six-month rotating presidency.
“The EU’s position on Iran is balanced,” Borrell said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
“We believe in applying political pressure in many areas when necessary, while seeking cooperation when necessary.”
Tehran said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif called on the European Union to “clarify its position” in a phone call with Borel on Sunday.
The relationship between the EU and Iran is currently at a highly sensitive moment, as the EU is seeking to facilitate the return of the United States to the nuclear agreement reached in 2015 with Tehran in the long-term talks in Vienna.
