WJC head says German minister ‘naive’ on Iran

Head of the World Jewish Congress Ron Lauder criticizes German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel for his recent visit to Iran, according to a report in Reuters.

Lauder accuses Gabriel of putting business interests first and calls his approach to Tehran “naive.”

“It is somewhat irritating that Germany’s vice chancellor and economics minister waited only five days before flying to Tehran with a delegation of German business leaders,” Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, is quoted by Reuters as saying in a statement.

He adds that Gabriel’s offer to serve as a bridge builder between Tehran and Jerusalem is naïve and says that “it would have been much better to make new commercial relations with Iran dependent on a change in the regime’s stance toward Israel.”