French “First Power Plan; Re-arrangement of the Traditional Role or A New Strategy”

Retrospectivey to Iran-Eurica’s series of sessions on French “First Power Plan; Re-arrangement of the Traditional Role or A New Strategy”, a meeting was held on December 8th, 2021 with Seyed Shamsuddin Karegani, senior diplomat and former director general, Western Europe Office in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former ambassador to Accra, The Hague and former Chargé d’Affaires of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London.
The meeting was concentrated on the possibility of cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and France, especially in regional issues. The discussions from the institute’s experts, the European and American departments, focused on this subject matter as well. Mr. Karegani addressed the issue from the his diplomatic perspective and the way he interacted with the Europeans. He later emphasized on the existence of persistent mistrust between Iran and Europe. He continued there are two issues at the peak of cooperations between Iran and France after the Islamic Revolution: first, the Critical Talks between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Europe, and second, the issue of nuclear talks. Generally spekaing, despite many considerations with the two sides in interacting with each other, there have been circumstances and oppertunities for the possible cooperation.
Among the specific obstacles hindering the interaction between Iran and France and Europe, the issue of Europe-US relations is the most significant one. From Iran’s perspective, Europeans, and especially the French, are followers of the United States and play roles in Washington’s policies against Iran. The Europeans, however, believe formation of a proper and independent relationship with Iran is not possible, unless Iran sees Europe as an independant institution.