EU countries withdraw from Iran business forum over journalist’s execution
Ambassadors for France and other European countries pulled out of a business forum planned to start Monday with Tehran’s foreign minister, which has now been canceled, amid international outcry over the execution of journalist Rouhollah Zam.
Zam, 47, was convicted in Iran of stirring up dissent during anti-government protests in 2017 and was hanged Saturday after Iran’s supreme court upheld a death sentence against him. In June, he was found guilty of “corruption on earth.” The journalist had been living in exile in France and was reportedly kidnapped after traveling to Iraq last year.
On Monday the ambassadors of France, Germany, Austria and Italy to Iran, along with the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell, were meant to take part in the virtual event, known as the Europe-Iran Business Forum, along with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
But “due to the barbaric and unacceptable execution” of Zam, France’s foreign ministry said on Twitter Sunday that it, along with Germany, Austria and Italy, would not take part in the event, using the hashtag #nobusinessasusual.
A top German official at Berlin’s foreign affairs ministry also tweeted that “due to current developments” Iran, Germany and other EU member countries would not participate in the panel event.
As a result, the organizers later said the event had been postponed, though they did not mention the execution in their statement.
“The power of economic diplomacy lies in its ability to provide a framework for constructive relations while also advancing economic opportunity and economic welfare for citizens. The Europe-Iran Business Forum was organized with these goals in mind,” the statement said. “The organizers of the Europe-Iran Business Forum look forward to holding the conference in the near future in order to achieve our goals in full.”
On Saturday, France, Germany, Italy and the EU condemned the killing of Zam. “The European Union condemns this act in the strongest terms and recalls once again its irrevocable opposition to the use of capital punishment under any circumstances,” an EU spokesperson said a statement.
Iran reacted by summoning the ambassador of Germany, which holds the rotating Council of the EU presidency, slamming what it described as “interventionist statements” from the EU and German foreign ministry.
