EU parliament's biggest political group declines to visit Iran

The European Peoples' Party (EPP) has announced that no member of its group will take part in the visit of the European Parliament delegation to Iran this week. "No member of the EPP Group will take part in this delegation. The EPP Group regrets that the number of executions in Iran has increased since the arrival of the new administration", Jose Ignacio Salafranca, Group Coordinator on Foreign Affairs of the Group, said in a press statement. He emphasised that "one of the essential elements of interparliamentary dialogue should include human rights, as well as NGOs and representatives of the opposition". The European Union maintains numerous sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities, linked to violations of human rights in the country, he noted. A five-member delegation from Socialist, Liberals, Greens and Leftist political groups in the European Parliament begins today a week-long visit to Tehran, first time since 2007, aiming to re-establish interparliamentary relations with members of the Iranian Majlis. The conservative EPP is the largest political group in the EP with 275 members.