Iran Censures French FM’s Comments on Its Regional Policies

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi says short-sighted political interests should not lead the French government to distort Iran’s constructive policies in the region.

The Iranian spokesman made the remarks in a talk with ISNA on Friday, responding to the latest anti-Iran accusations by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Speaking to RTL radio on Friday, Le Drian said Iran should come to the negotiating table to discuss its missile program, which he said is not “solely aimed at defensive purposes”.

Qassemi said the Islamic Republic’s experiences in recent decades, including the west-sponsored Iraqi aggression against the country in 1980s, has taught Tehran it needs to boost its missile power as an effective deterrence.

“Iran’s missile activities are against no country and it is only for defensive purposes,” he added.

Unfair Allegations

Qassemi said Tehran itself is a big victim of terrorist attacks and it has spared no chance to fight terrorism.

“It is the Islamic Republic’s principled policy to fight terrorism and this policy has so far produced positive results in the region and the world,” he said, referring to Iran’s support for anti-terrorism push in Syria and Iraq that succeeded in neutralizing ISIS.

The spokesman said Iran has worked to promote stability, security and economic development in the region.

“We see our interests in consolidating security and peace in the region and we have been working to cooperate with regional countries to reach this end,” he said.

“Such anti-Iran allegations are wrong and unfair and result from lack of information about the situation in the region,” Qassemi said.

Qassemi’s comments came after the top French diplomat accused Tehran of destabilizing the region and sponsoring terrorism, saying Iran must agree to stop “meddling in others’ affairs” and cease support for the Syrian government and Houthis in Yemen.

Le Drian made the remarks before attending a meeting with other parties to JCPOA on the future of the Iran nuclear deal following the US withdrawal.

The top French diplomat also said Iran “must stop permanently threatening to break their commitments to the nuclear deal”, so that Europe can “find the solutions so that Iran can have the necessary economic compensations.”

Iran has announced it will not be able to continue to fulfill its obligations under the nuclear pact if the return of US sanctions places much pressure on the country.

Tehran has demanded binding assurances from other parties to the deal that its interests will be protected if it remains in the deal.

France has said Europe would likely not be able to create an economic compensation package for Iran prior to November.

IFP Editorial Staff

The IFP Editorial Staff is composed of dozens of skilled journalists, news-writers, and analysts whose works are edited and published by experienced editors specialized in Iran News. The editor of each IFP Service is responsible for the report published by the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website, and can be contacted through the ways mentioned in the "IFP Editorial Staff" section.