EUROPEAN UNION Brussels, 1 December 2011
A 489/11

Remarks by High Representative Catherine Ashton
at the press conference following the Foreign Affairs Council

Excerpts:
We had a discussion on Iran, which was in two parts. First of all, the continuation from the last Foreign Affairs Council to consider further sanctions on Iran. This is part of our ongoing concern as a result of the report from the IAEA, and the desire for us to see Iran taking seriously the international community’s call to respect its obligation and move away from the pursuit of nuclear weapon technology.
We agreed to look at a range of issues including the energy sector, but the details of exactly what should be done now goes to the technical experts who decide what will work, what works for EU Member States and what effect this will have on Iran.
We’d also like Dr Jalili to respond to my letter which set out that the issues we put forward in Istanbul remain on the table and that we wanted them to come forward with their proposals or to respond to ours. We seek dialogue, but in the meantime we also will continue with the pressure to ensure that that’s the path that they’ll take.
Separately, but obviously within the same debate there was a discussion about what has happened in the British Embassy in Tehran and – as one of my colleagues put it – the consideration that an attack on one Member State is an attack on all. And I’ll read you the statement that we’ve issued specifically on that: ‘The Council is outraged by the attack on the British Embassy in Tehran and utterly condemns it. It is a violation of the Vienna convention. It also deplores the decision to expel the British Ambassador from Tehran. The Council considers these actions against the UK actions against the European Union as a whole. The EU is taking appropriate measures in response.’
And what William Hague was asking colleagues to consider is whether they could do things in solidarity with the UK. He was extremely grateful for the statements that I have made on behalf of all and for individual statements that ministers have made. In addition, some Member States have taken the decision to recall their ambassadors for consultations, others don’t have embassies on the ground, and others are in dialogue with their teams on the ground to see what the appropriate thing to do would be. There was no requirement or a request for one single approach, rather each country should show in one way or another, its solidarity with the UK and I think the foreign secretary was very happy with what was said. So a two-part discussion, but very clear signals to Iran.
We also talked about the situation in Camp Ashraf in Iraq. I’ve appointed a personal envoy to discuss with the United Nations, with Member States, with the United States and with the Iraqi government and others the position of the 3,400 people who are in Camp Ashraf. There is an ongoing UN effort to try and deal with this issue and find ways to settle these people appropriately. There is a great concern in the European Parliament, in Member States’ parliaments, with me and with others, about ensuring the safety of the people there.
And we’re in discussion and dialogue with all the parties I’ve identified to make sure that we play our part in supporting the UN as they take this forward.