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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran condemns G8 stance on its election |
| 2009-06-28 |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] Iran's Foreign Ministry says the country "regrets" a "hasty" statement by the Group of Eight major powers about its June 12 presidential election. "The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns the interfering and unacceptable remarks by the President of the European Parliament. Such hasty remarks are made under circumstances that the Guardian Council has not yet completed the process of probing into election complaints," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said Saturday. His remarks came after EU President Hans-Gert Pottering offered to lead a mission of EU lawmakers to Iran to help defuse the tense situation following the disputed June 12 presidential election. Pointed to mass participation of Iranian voters, the spokesman said, "The election was held in a highly competitive and free atmosphere and in accordance with law." "The world expects foreign ministers of the eight industrialized nations to focus on their predetermined agenda and raise serious problems that their countries and the international community are faced with," he said. "If the president and other members of the European Parliament pay a visit to Iran within a framework of mutual respect and interests, it can be regarded as a positive step toward the expansion of parliamentary ties between Iran and Europe. Otherwise, it will not be fruitful at all," Qashqavi added. On Friday, the G8 foreign ministers deplored post-election violence in Iran, which led to the loss of lives of Iranian civilians. They also urged Iran "to respect fundamental human rights including freedom of expression" and said that the crisis should be settled through "democratic dialogue and peaceful means." Following the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on June 12, Iran became the scene of rallies with defeated presidential hopefuls Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi rejecting the election result as fraudulent and demanding a re-run. Tehran has summoned ambassadors from Britain, France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Canada to warn them against "interfering" in the internal affairs of the country. The meeting of the G8 foreign ministers was held in Trieste in northeastern Italy to discuss the means to restore security to Afghanistan. |
| Posted by:Fred |