LONDON: Iran dismissed on Tuesday European Union unease about its missile program and rights abuses, calling it “non-constructive,” as Europe seeks to shield Iran from US sanctions while containing its regional policies.
The European Union said on Monday it was gravely concerned by Iran’s ballistic missile tests and called on it to stop activity that deepened mistrust and destabilized the region.
The Iranian foreign ministry said Iran’s missile program was “defensive and deterrent” and Iran would never negotiate over it with other countries.
“Clear threats against the Islamic Republic is not constructive, efficient and helpful, and it is not in line with regional security and real interests of Europe,” Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement published by the Tasnim news agency.
The European Union said in its 12-point statement that it was committed to the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that US President Donald Trump pulled out of last May.
Last week, Britain, France and Germany launched a system to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran and avoid US sanctions.
However, the EU warned that it could no longer tolerate what it said were Iranian assassination plots on its soil.
Iran’s foreign ministry rejected the warning.
“Raising such baseless and hollow accusations while known terrorist and criminal groups are free in Europe, is non-constructive at this stage, and is in line with the goals of enemies who seek to undermine Iran’s relations with Europe,” it said.
The ministry welcomed the new channel for non-dollar trade, known as the Instrument In Support Of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), but called it “late and inadequate.”
Iran warned that it would revise relations with Europe if it did not benefit economically from INSTEX.
Iran dismisses EU concern about missile tests as ‘non-constructive’
Iran dismisses EU concern about missile tests as ‘non-constructive’
- The European Union said on Monday it was gravely concerned by Iran’s ballistic missile tests and called on it to stop activity that deepened mistrust and destabilized the region
- The EU warned that it could no longer tolerate what it said were Iranian assassination plots on its soil
Tunisian police arrest member of parliament who mocked president
- Ahmed Saidani mocked the president in a Facebook post, describing him as the “supreme commander of sewage and rainwater drainage”
TUNIS: Tunisian police arrested lawmaker Ahmed Saidani on Wednesday, two of his colleagues said, in what appeared to be part of an escalating crackdown on critics of President Kais Saied.
Saidani has recently become known for his fierce criticism of Saied. On Tuesday, he mocked the president in a Facebook post, describing him as the “supreme commander of sewage and rainwater drainage,” blasting what he said was the absence of any achievements by Saied.
Saidani was elected as a lawmaker at the end of 2022 in a parliamentary election with very low voter turnout, following Saied’s dissolution of the previous parliament and dismissal of the government in 2021.
Saied has since ruled by decree, moves the opposition has described as a coup.
Most opposition leaders, some journalists and critics of Saied, have been imprisoned since he seized control of most powers in 2021.
Activists and human rights groups say Saied has cemented his one-man rule and turned Tunisia into an “open-air prison” in an effort to suppress his opponents. Saied denies being a dictator, saying he is enforcing the law and seeking to “cleanse” the country.
Once a supporter of Saied’s policies against political opponents, Saidani has become a vocal critic in recent months, accusing the president of seeking to monopolize all decision-making while avoiding responsibility, leaving others to bear the blame for problems.
Last week, Saidani also mocked the president for “taking up the hobby of taking photos with the poor and destitute,” sarcastically adding that Saied not only has solutions for Tunisia but claims to have global approaches capable of saving humanity.
Under Tunisian law, lawmakers enjoy parliamentary immunity and cannot be arrested for carrying out their duties, although detention is allowed if they are caught committing a crime.
