Iran’s FM tackles IRGC, ties with French counterpart

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
25 Jan 2023 22:04

The foreign ministers of Iran and France discuss IRGC and other developments during a phone call Wednesday.

Iran's Foreign Minister during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart on June 23, 2022 (AFP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during a phone call with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna said that France's support for the riots in Iran is an unfriendly step.

"Iran always prefers negotiation and diplomacy, but it does not hesitate to respond immediately and effectively to measures against it," he tersely stated.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he described the stances of the European Parliament toward the IRGC as being "not constructive", reiterating that the Guard Corps is "a sovereign institution that preserves Iranian national security."

Commenting on the offensive Charlie Hebdo cartoon, the Iranian Foreign Minister tersely stated, "In addition to these remarks and actions, we witnessed the unproportionate and insulting action of the French magazine [Charlie Hebdo] in attacking religious sanctities that was unfortunately repeated in two other European countries in the form of insulting the Holy Quran, the holy book of Muslims."

Regarding the relationship between the two countries, he advised Paris not to "repeat Trump's failed sanctions policy."

"From today, we are also exercising a new list of sanctions against the European Union and the UK which includes 33 European officials and entities in reciprocal action," he added.

On her part, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna claimed that Paris did not interfere in Iran's internal affairs, stressing the need to maintain relations between the two countries through continuing dialogue.

It is also worth noting that the French Foreign Minister also asked for the release of French nationals detained in Iran on espionage and national security charges.

Paris intervened in Iranian affairs during the US-fueled riots which aimed to shake the country's internal stability. In mid-November, the media's head of instability Masih Alinejad met with French President Emmanuel Macron.