Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made the remarks in a Monday meeting with visiting President of the French Senate Gerard Larcher in Tehran, adding the very spirit of the visa law gives immunity to whoever is siding with terrorists.
“It is imperative for European countries to exert their autonomous will and resolve in the face of such bigoted approaches,” he stressed.
Zarif was referring to the new changes in the US Visa Waiver Program recently passed by the House which require the nationals from 38 countries, mostly European, to obtain a visa to visit the United States if they have visited Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan in the past five years.
The French senior official, for his part, maintained that France has adopted an independent stance toward this legislation and the French Senate will take any measures necessary to change this policy.
Elsewhere, Zarif discussed President Rouhani’s upcoming visit to France on 27-28 January, voicing his confidence that the visit would commence a new phase in the two countries’ political and economic relations and lead to many positive consequences for the prospect of bilateral and regional ties.
The Iranian top diplomat deemed terrorism and extremism ‘common concerns’ for Iran and France, adding “the growing presence of ISIL in Afghanistan and Libya and the terrorists’ atrocities in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, as well as the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, all stem from the same ideology.”
Zarif further reiterated that the only solution to regional crises such as in Yemen and Syria is a political one, saying the adoption of a common strategy by all countries who only wish to facilitate the resolution of the crisis and not to make decisions about it, will be definitely the key to restore peace and stability to the region.
For his part, Gerard Larcher commended the Islamic Republic for its effective and constructive role in settling its nuclear program as well as the complicated conflicts in the region.
He further expressed France’s full support and welcome to the prospect of a fundamental improvement in Paris-Tehran ties, saying the visit of President Rouhani to France will positively alter the two countries’ interactions in resolving regional and international issues.
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