Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Chairman of Iranian Parliament's Commission on National Security and Foreign Policy met with Élisabeth Guigou, Head of French National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee, in Tehran on Wednesday.
The two officials exchanged ideas on the European Union's removing of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization terrorist group (aka MKO or MEK) from its blacklist of terrorist organizations, France's selling of infected blood products to Iran in the 1980s, European silence over civilian massacre in Yemen, and the ISIL ruining peace all over the world.
Criticizing EU’s decision on MKO, Boroujerdi added that the decision had empowered the terrorist group, which is responsible for shedding the blood of thousands of innocent Iranians, to 'freely move' in European countries.
"The Islamic Republic expects France to blacklist the anti-Iran terrorist group and end its activities in the European country," said Boroujerdi.
The MKO has carried out numerous terrorist attacks on civilians and government officials in Iran over the past three decades. Out of nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks since the victory of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, some 12,000 have fallen victim to the acts of terror carried out by the MKO.
The group was viewed by the EU as terrorist until January 2009, when the EU Council lifted the designation under immense pressure from political lobbies. The decision was followed by the United States in September 2012.
Referring to the export of infected blood factors to Iran, Boroujerdi said most of the countries that received the bloods were compensated by Paris over the years, but the French government has yet to pay redress to Iranians.
The controversial case dates back to 1984 and 1985, when Fabius was serving as the prime minister of France. He was, at the time, accused of having a hand in a French company’s reportedly deliberate selling of blood products contaminated with HIV to a number of countries, including Iran. The blood products were used for the treatment of haemophiliacs in the target countries. Fabius and two of his ministers were charged with manslaughter but the then French premier was later acquitted.
Boroujerdi further highlighted the need for more efforts at the international level for fighting terrorism in the Middle East, saying the activities of the terror groups in countries like Iraq and Syria pose a huge threat to the global peace and security.
The French lawmaker, for her part, warned against the growing wave of terror threats in the region. Guigou called Iran a stable country in the Middle East which could play a big role in the fight against terrorism, adding that Tehran and the international community can increase their concentration in this regard.