French Foreign Minister's visit to Tehran ends in failure

Reports from Iran indicate that the visit by French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine to Iran was unsuccessful and that his discussions with mullahs' President Mohammad Khatami and Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi over such fundamental issues as human rights abuses, export of terrorism, production and stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction, the fatwa to murder Salman Rushdie and opposition to Middle East peace ended in failure.

At the conclusion of his visit, Vedrine acknowledged his lack of success in obtaining a specific appraisal of "the possibility for an opening since Khatami's election." He added that he did not have "sufficient time to arrive at a definitive assessment of the situation and that the appraisal would continue."

Kharrazi stressed in a joint press conference with Vedrine that the mullahs have a different position when it comes to human rights and the fatwa. He said: "I must say that we cannot reach agreement on all issues."

These comments show the failure of Vedrine's trip and his talks with the leaders of the mullahs' religious, terrorist dictatorship. They reaffirm that this medieval regime does not have any capacity to change or reform. As Kharrazi reiterated, domestic suppression and export of terrorism are indispensable to the policies and survival of the theocratic regime ruling Iran.

Prior to the French Foreign Minister's visit to Tehran, the Iranian Resistance emphasized that "the days of the ruling theocracy, beset by political and economic crises and unable to confront the growing popular resistance, are numbered and the situation reminds one of the shah's last months in power. This trip would therefore be futile and only embolden the mullahs to continue their crimes against the Iranian people and their export of terrorism and fundamentalism to the region and the world."

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
August 26, 1998

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