In an interview with RTL, Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Asselborn stressed that it was unacceptable to let history repeat itself: in November last year, Iran violently repressed protests that had been sparked by the abrupt increase in petrol prices. According to Asselborn, the EU believes it to be a right of young Iranians to question national politics and the regime. Protests must not be violently repressed, Asselborn emphasised.
Asselborn met with the commission for foreign affairs of the Chamber of Deputies this Monday morning to discuss progress made in deescalating tensions. He said that the EU had the great advantage of being on good terms with the US and Iran.
Europe stands by the Iran nuclear deal and if it had not been for the 2015 accord, Iran would have nuclear weapons today, Asselborn said. He added that Iran had, up until now, not done anything that could not be rescinded. The controls of the International Atomic Energy Agency were also making progress, Asselborn said.
The minister doubted that a new deal would see the light of day. He stressed that the current deal was airtight and opposing Iran's stance on human rights. Asselborn stressed that the country's human rights politics were cruel and called for them to be changed. He also voiced criticism for Iran's foreign policies. Asselborn concluded that the nuclear deal was a valuable tool to tackle these shortcomings.
