Michael Higgins said Tehran would help achieve peace in the Middle East.
(JNS)
Irish President Michael D. Higgins on Sunday defended his letter to his Iranian counterpart that said that the regime in Teheran will play a “crucial role” in maintaining peace in the Middle East and accused Israel’s embassy in Dublin of leaking the letter to the media.
Higgins made the allegation, which the embassy has denied, at a press conference in New York. Asked by a reporter whether he knew how the letter got out, he said: “I do indeed, it was certainly the Israeli embassy.”
In the letter, dated July 11, Higgins offered Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian his congratulations and “best wishes” for “all the challenges we face at this difficult time when we struggle for peace,” adding that “Iran with its long tradition of culture will play a crucial role in achieving this.”
The E.U., to which Ireland belongs, has sanctions in place against Iran, including for selling drones to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine. The bloc tightened its sanctions on Iran, a major sponsor of terrorism that is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of European citizens and other Westerners in recent decades, following its mass drone attack on Israel in April.
Following that attack, European Council President Charles Michel said that “it’s very important to do everything to isolate Iran.”
Irish opposition politicians slammed Higgins for what they called his “fawning” letter and appeasing tone on Iran.
The letter “was a standard one I have written to many heads of state, and I stressed in it the importance of peace in the region, and the importance as well of diplomacy returning in relation to the resolution of disputes and so forth,” Higgins said in New York.
Responding to Higgins’s allegation regarding the Israeli legation, its spokesperson said: “This baseless accusation is highly inflammatory and potentially slanderous and the embassy rejects it completely.”
Ireland is among the E.U. member states with the most hostile policy toward Israel, and it joined Spain and Norway in recognizing a Palestinian state in May.
Image: Irish President Michael D. Higgins delivers a speech in Dublin on March 17, 2023. Credit: Diplomat.ie.
