Borrell regrets the “huge strategic mistake” made by Iran in backing Russia in the war in Ukraine

Today’s latest news about the Ukrainian-Russian war

Dec. 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has lamented the current state of relations between the Iranian authorities and the Western community thanks to the “bloody repression” that they are exercising right now within the country or his support for Russia in the Ukrainian war.

Although Borrell acknowledges that the Iranian government has publicly denied the delivery of its drones to Russia in its attacks against Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion, the head of European diplomacy assures that Tehran “is aware” of the “crimes of war and attacks against civil infrastructures” that he has blamed on Moscow.

That is why, in his opinion, Iran is making a “huge strategic mistake” by choosing “the wrong path and destroying its credibility by pretending that it is not taking sides in that war”, as Borrell published this Friday on his blog, where he has also recognized the “difficult” conversation held this week with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hosein Amirabdolahian, on this issue, as well as the “unacceptable events” that are occurring in the Islamic republic.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard estimates that more than 300 people have died since the start of the protests, due to the death in custody of the young Mahsa Amini, a member of the Iranian Kurdish minority. The figure is lower than that provided by the NGO Iran Human Rights, which points to more than 400 deaths due to the repression by the security forces while the execution of demonstrators convicted in the context of the riots has already begun.

“We urge Iran’s leaders to stop the executions of arrested people and the bloody repression of peaceful protesters, and with the delivery of drones and military cooperation with Russia, with which the country supports the illegal war of aggression against Ukraine,” Borrell has made known.

Lastly, Borrell addressed the tough negotiations for the reactivation of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the international community, the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) practically annulled since the unilateral withdrawal of the US and the consequent reimposition of its sanctions against Tehran in 2018.

“I continue to be of the opinion that, as far as nuclear non-proliferation is concerned, there is no alternative to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and whoever thinks otherwise is deceiving themselves”, but he recalled that the reactivation of this agreement does not happen “in a strategic vacuum” and that it is part of a policy change by the Iranian authorities.

“The JCPOA is an essential part of a larger perspective: The Islamic republic needs to listen to its own citizens, rather than repress them, and it must immediately stop its military support for Russia,” Borrell concluded.