Fabius visit stirs bad blood in Iran
France’s foreign minister is finding out that a deal with Iran is not enough of a Band-Aid to repair the damage a previous scandal has done to his reputation in the country.
After a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany that would reduce Iran’s nuclear program for sanctions relief, trade between Iran and Europe is expected to resume. Germany's economy minister, Sigmar Gabriel, has already visited Tehran, and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced that he would visit next week. Despite Fabius saying that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif invited him, some in Iran met the announcement of the trip by Fabius with harsh reactions.
“Next week, when Fabius travels to Tehran, it also happens to be Support of Hemophilia week, and this is in remembrance of losing our compatriots to the infected blood that was imported [to] our country. And the main cause of that was Fabius,” Iranian analyst Mojtaba Zolnour said to Fars News on July 23.
