Tehran paper urges Khatami to ignore hardline opposition
to France visit
TEHRAN, April 4 (AFP) - The moderate paper Khordad Sunday urged Iranian
President Mohammad Khatami to press ahead with his delayed visit to France,
saying that hardline opponents of his trip were damaging Tehran's interests.
"Khatami's visit to France is in Iran's interest" but "certain
political circles are against it," the paper said.
President Khatami on Monday put off a ground-breaking visit to Paris
planned for April after a wrangle about the serving of wine at official
receptions which Iranian officials explained as a disagreement about the
programme for the visit.
"Certain people are against Khatami's visit to Paris" because
they "do not realise that his popularity only contributes to a
strengthening of the regime," a member of the parliamentary committe
for foreign affairs, Ahmad Ghazaii-Niari, told the paper.
Nationalist activist Parviz Varjavand warned of the damaging effect
that indefinite postponement of the visit could have on relations. "If
the postponement of this trip to France is prolonged, it could affect
Tehran-Paris ties," he told the paper.
Several Iranian dailies, most of them close to the conservatives,
on Saturday lashed out against France following President Mohammad Khatami's
postponement of the visit, calling Paris's insistence on having wine served
at official dinners "disrespectful towards Islamic codes."
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