Luxembourg, 29 April 1997 (RFE/RL) - European Union (EU) Foreign Ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, agreed today to suspend high-level bilateral meetings with Iran in response to a German court ruling that found Iranian government involvement in the murder of Iranian opposition figures.
According to a draft of the ministers' agreement, the EU will also continue its arm embargo on Iran, will not grant visas to Iranians with intelligence or security functions, and will move to exclude all Iranian intelligence personnel from the EU.
The move to toughen the EU's stance follows a ruling by a Berlin court on April 10 that implicated Senior Iranian officials in the 1992 murder of four Iranian Kurds on German soil. One unnamed diplomat said the move was a political gesture reflecting the European Union's determination to fight terrorism in all its forms.
According to a draft of the ministers' agreement, the EU will also continue its arm embargo on Iran, will not grant visas to Iranians with intelligence or security functions, and will move to exclude all Iranian intelligence personnel from the EU.
The move to toughen the EU's stance follows a ruling by a Berlin court on April 10 that implicated Senior Iranian officials in the 1992 murder of four Iranian Kurds on German soil. One unnamed diplomat said the move was a political gesture reflecting the European Union's determination to fight terrorism in all its forms.