The European Union will continue to press Iran on the use of violence against demonstrators, but there will be no early action against the regime in Tehran. “There is not much the EU can do,” a diplomat said.
Carl Bildt, Sweden's foreign minister, on Monday referred to the “strong condemnation” of the post-election violence issued by EU leaders at their summit in Brussels on Friday. He said that the continued bloodshed over the weekend made it necessary “to be even stronger in our message”, but did not provide any detail.
Power struggle
It would be counter-productive to press Iran on the validity of its presidential election results, some analysts believe, recommending instead that the EU wait to see how the power struggle plays out. Officials and diplomats stress that the EU will continue its engagement with Iran on the country's nuclear programme, the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan and the Middle East peace process. An official said that dealing with the Iranian government did not imply any recognition of the official election result. But – as one analyst told European Voice – it was entirely reasonable and necessary to tell Tehran “that they cannot shoot people”.
Tensions were raised on Monday (22 June), when Iran expelled two British diplomats whom it had accused of helping the opposition. Gordon Brown, the UK prime minister, told the House of Commons on Tuesday (23 June) that the allegations were “absolutely without foundation” and said that his government had expelled two Iranian diplomats in retaliation.
G8 meeting
A meeting of foreign ministers of the G8 leading economies in Trieste, Italy, today and tomorrow (25-26 June) is likely to discuss Iran at great length. The meeting will be attended by Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, who is also the international community's chief negotiator with Iran on its nuclear programme.
