The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran called upon Ambassador Giuseppe Perrone – over remarks by PM Meloni condemning the ongoing repression – a day after the opposite happened in Rome
Tehran summons the Italian ambassador. On Thursday, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Italy’s Ambassador to Iran, Giuseppe Perrone, to formally protest Rome’ stance on the ongoing repression of protests. “The Italian ambassador was informed about Iran’s strong protest to the acts and remarks by some Italian officials which continue to intervene in Iran’s domestic affairs,” reads Iranian media Irna.
- Iranian officials criticised Italy’s supposed “selective and dual policies towards human rights” and accused Rome of “harm[ing] the interests of the Iranian nation” by imposing “illegal sanctions”. Furthermore, they “noted that the negative and irrational stands of some Italian officials are not compatible with the historical record of the relations between the two countries.”
Rome’s position. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took an even harder stance than her FM in her end-of-year presser on Thursday, noting that Tehran’s actions are “intolerable and unacceptable” and “Italy will consult with allies to take more effective actions” – such as additional sanctions – if the regime did not cease.
- On Wednesday, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani summoned Iranian Ambassador-designate Mohammad Reza Sabouri to ask the regime to stop the death sentences and the repression of Iran’s protesters.
- Writing on our sister website, Giulio Terzi – a senator of PM Meloni’s party, where he is in charge of diplomatic relations, and member of the United Against a Nuclear Iran international coalition – noted that “the Iranian regime can never be reformed” and that regime change is “inescapable.”
- Last week, Italian parties united in committing the government to take action at the EU and UN level to stop Tehran’s repression of its people, to expand and update the list of individual sanctions and strengthen controls to prevent their circumvention on Italian soil.
- The resolution also praised Mr Tajani’s decision to not respond to a request for a meeting by his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at the Med Dialogues 2022. With this choice, “Italy has already given a first clear signal,” notes the text.
