Iran 'punishes' Europe with refusal to talk

BBC:

The EU is no longer qualified to take part in talks on Iran's nuclear programme, Iran's military chief says.

Maj Gen Hassan Firouzabadi, Iran's chief of staff, accused the EU of "interference" in riots which followed June's disputed presidential elections.

EU states, meanwhile, are considering withdrawing their ambassadors from Iran in a growing diplomatic row.

Britain proposed the step after Iran detained nine of its embassy staff last week. Eight have since been released.

The BBC's European affairs correspondent Oana Lungescu says senior officials from EU capitals will discuss the request in Stockholm on Thursday.

But diplomats say that Germany and Italy - Iran's biggest trading partners in the EU - oppose it, arguing that channels of dialogue with Iran should be kept open.

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In his statement, reported by Fars, army chief of staff Gen Firouzabadi accused some EU members of supporting the riots, and demonstrating their hostility to the Iranian people.

The EU has yet to comment, but earlier urged Iran to avoid conflict with the international community.

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It is pretty clear that Iranian leadership are still not on the same page with the rest of the world when it comes to the events that transpired after the election. One of Iran's problems is its own failure to take responsibility for those reactions and the response of the world to them. Lashing out at foreigners will not solve Iran's internal problems and its failure to enter into talks about its nukes should result in ever greater sanctions. Whether the Europeans have the guts for that is another question.