AJC Dismayed by Presence of Iranian Foreign Minister at International Conference in Germany

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Dec 06, 2011, 10:28 ET

BERLIN, Dec. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC is dismayed by the invitation to Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi to attend the second International Afghanistan Conference, held in Bonn on December 5.

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"Including a top-level Iranian official at an important international conference is precisely the wrong signal to send to Iran at this moment in time. The international community has imposed sanctions against the Iranian regime for its nuclear program and its flaunting of repeated UN Security Council resolutions and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) rules," said David Harris, AJC Executive Director. "What message does it send to Tehran that, on the one hand, it's deemed a pariah state, yet, on the other hand, its government leaders are welcome to participate in a high-level conference on European soil? Regrettably, the question answers itself. Moreover, every attempt at dialogue the past decade with this regime has failed. Today, we need broader sanctions against Iran, including restrictions on travel by government leaders, not more opportunities for them to hopscotch around the world and be accorded the legitimacy they deny their own people."

A recently released report of the IAEA indicates that Iran continues to brazenly violate international agreements in its pursuit of nuclear-weapons capability. Moreover, its active support for terrorism, egregious violations of human rights, and destabilizing and deadly activities in neighboring countries are all amply documented.

Before the conference, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle protested the recent storming and hostage-taking at the British Embassy in Tehran to Iranian Foreign Minister Salehi, who reportedly "promised" something similar would not happen again. In an interview with a German newspaper, Minister Salehi expressed regret for the tragic incident, but refused to apologize. In response to the attack, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors, while other EU countries regrettably did not follow suit.

This second international Afghanistan conference was convened ten years after the initial conference to clarify the future agenda on Afghanistan and focus political attention on support for genuine democracy -- a goal Iran most assuredly does not share -- in Afghanistan.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee