Iran’s Friendly Advice to Macron Against Fishing in Troubled Waters

Date: 19 November 2017 - 21:42

News ID: ۴۶۶۲۳

By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer

France, as a major European country, has a distinctive voice of its own which has safeguarded its independence and traditional values, especially from the British, who have always viewed it as the main continental rival against designs to dye Europe in English colours.
The colonial rivalry between the two nations around the world is indeed a thing of a bygone era which will never be repeated in future, although it has given both Paris and London a permanent seat on the UN Security Council with the unjust veto power, because of the unfair distribution of authorities based on past laurels at the so-called World Body, which unfortunately doesn’t represent the global community of nations.
It is also worth noting that after World War 2 and liberation from Nazi Germany, mainly with British and American military help for the French resistance, Paris maintained its strong independent position and policies, without bowing to the dictates of London and Washington.
These factors were on the mind of Iran’s former longtime foreign minister, Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati, who following the recent American-influenced remarks of the young and inexperienced French president, Emmanuel Macron, pertaining to the Islamic Republic of Iran, gave an interesting piece of advice:
"As an Iranian, familiar with foreign policy issues and the history of France, I recommend the president of that country (France) to try to follow the path of (Late French President) General (Charles) de Gaulle regarding international affairs.”
Dr. Velayati who currently serves as International Affairs Advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, following his 16-year-long four successive successful terms as Iran’s foreign minister was referring to Macron’s attempts to interfere in Iran’s internal issues, especially its right to self-sufficiency in defence matters, particularly the country’s advanced ballistic missile project.
Without mincing words, he rightly said: "It does not benefit Mr. Macron and France to interfere in the missile issue and the strategic affairs of the Islamic Republic, regarding which we have great sensitiveness. What does this issue have to do with Mr. Macron? Who is he at all to interfere? If he wants relations between Iran and France to grow then he should try not to interfere in these issues.”
Paris, which is currently hosting absconding Lebanese Premier, Sa’d al-Hariri, has surely heard this and similar messages from the foreign ministry in Tehran, and should know that the Islamic Republic, which is keen to maintain its relations with France on the basis of mutual respect, really means what it says.
If France is interested in economic and industrial cooperation with Iran, the scope is vast and beneficial to both the countries, provided Paris doesn’t make the folly of repeating what it said of our missiles, since our arsenal is purely for national defence and doesn’t contain the unconventional weaponry, including nuclear bombs that the French arsenal has, and it is time these weapons of mass destruction should be destroyed for the sake of world peace.
France is free to pursue, upgrade and enjoy relations with all world countries, including those in our neighbourhood, but this does not mean that in a bid to appease some super-rich reactionary regimes with a track record of destabilizing regional countries through terrorists, it should fish in troubled waters, especially in Lebanon and Syria against the aspirations of the people of those countries and their legal governments.
Hopefully, Macron as the elected representative of the people of France, would give the necessary guidelines on national interests and national sovereignty to his guest, Hariri, who was illegally and undiplomatically detained by Saudi Arabia while on a visit to Riyadh and then forced to announce resignation on foreign soil by blaming his own government’s constitutionally legal coalition partner, the legendary anti-terrorist movement, Hezbollah.
Hariri’s two children are being held hostage in Saudi Arabia, which means whatever unwarranted remarks against his own country’s national interests, peace and security he might make in Paris should not be taken seriously by Macron and the French media.