Israel says the European Union is making a “grave mistake” by opening a diplomatic office in Iran, after EU Foreign policy head Federica Mogherini announced plans for a mission in the Islamic Republic in a statement marking one year since the signing of the landmark nuclear deal.
In a Foreign Ministry statement, Israel calls on Brussels to rethink the move, citing the Iranian regime’s continued repression, support for terror and anti-Israel rhetoric.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, and the European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini arrive to attend a press briefing after their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, April 16, 2016. (AP /Ebrahim Noroozi)
“It is the world’s worst state sponsor of terror. It funds murder throughout the Middle East. It hangs gays and brutally represses its own people. Iran brazenly violates its international obligations while literally emblazoning its missiles with ‘Israel will be wiped out,'” the statement reads. “Iran should not be rewarded as it spreads murder and mayhem across the world.”
In the EU statement, Mogherini, who visited Tehran in April, did not detail what shape the mission would take, calling it “an EU Delegation in Iran.”
“The European Union supports a strategy of gradual engagement that is comprehensive in scope, cooperative where there is mutual interest, critical when there are differences and constructive in practice,” she said.
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