Iran’s foreign minister hold phone talks with EU foreign policy chief

In a phone conversation, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, held talks on the latest regional and international developments as well as ties between Iran and Europe.

Amirabdollahian emphasized the need for Europe to deal seriously and effectively with all kinds of Islamophobia, strongly condemning the insults in Sweden against Islamic sanctities and the Holy Qur’an, which hurt the feelings of Muslims in all parts of the world.

He highlighted the importance of maintaining the dialog channels between Iran and Europe in an effort to achieve a common understanding between the two sides, and described the recent negotiations between Tehran and the European parties as frank and constructive.

“The new representative of the European Union in the region, who was previously the foreign minister of Italy, has constructive relations with us, and we hope that the representative will contribute to the process of positive interaction between Iran and Europe,” he added, while describing the roles of Borrell and Mora as constructive.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always been a supporter of peace and stability in the world, including Ukraine, and in this context, it believes that stopping the war is only possible through political initiatives,” the foreign minister added, referring to the Ukraine developments.

Amirabdollahian also pointed to the record and terrorist actions of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) terror group, and considered the Albanian government’s recent move to deal with the terrorists, although it was late, to be an experience for the European countries that have endangered the security of their people by supporting them.

For his part, Borrell welcomed the ongoing cooperation and negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and evaluated its continuation as useful and positive.

Insulting the Holy Qur’an is not the position of the European Union, and any insult and action against religions is completely condemned by the European Union, he added.

Commenting on the sanctions removal talk, Borrell said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), protecting its structure and continuation of relevant constructive talks, on the one side, and the process of normalization of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, on the other, are significant to the European Union.

The two sides also exchanged views on the JCPOA and positive cooperation with the IAEA