Baku, Azerbaijan, April 8
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iranian parliament has cancelled a visit of parliamentary delegation to Europe in protest to European Parliament's new resolution which included the situation of human rights in Iran.
The head of Iran and Europe Parliamentary Friendship Group, Kazem Jalali announced that it was decided to cancel the visit due to the "anti-Iran" resolution, Iranian IRNA news agency reported on April 8.
Jalali unveiled the decision in a statement addressing Tarja Cronberg who headed the recent European Parliament delegation to Iran.
The Iranian parliamentary delegation was to travel to Strasburg on April 27-28 upon an invitation by Cronberg.
The European Parliament passed a resolution on the EU strategy towards Iran on April 3, expressing concern over the human rights violations in Iran.
The resolution criticizes human rights abuses in Iran and calls for a more active role of the EU in addressing the problems related to human rights in the country and supporting civil society. It also advises EU members to focus on human rights in their ties with the Islamic republic.
The Iranian administration, as well as the hardline MPs have seriously criticized the resolution.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said on April 4 that the European Parliament's measure was "baseless and unacceptable," adding that not only does the resolution run counter to all political and international criteria, but it is also reminiscent of "discriminatory and racist" approaches.