Iran Slams EU for Branding Palestinian Groups as "Terrorist Organizations"

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, December 12, 2001

Iran Slams EU for Branding Palestinian Groups as "Terrorist Organizations"

Iran on Tuesday criticized the European Union (EU) for terming Palestinian anti-Israel movements as "terrorist groups," saying that such a claim will lead to worsening of the current crisis in the Middle East.

EU's move indicated that it is "unaware of Israeli terrorist attacks against the Palestinians," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said, in reaction to a communique by EU foreign ministers during a meeting in Brussels on Monday, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported.

The EU labeled the Palestinian resistance groups as "terrorist networks" and joined the United States in calling on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to dismantle them.

The Palestinian intifada (uprising) is a "popular movement which enjoys unprecedented support from the Muslim nations and freedom- loving people around the world," Asefi said.

"Resistance to Israeli terrorist attacks is the legitimate right of the Palestinian people as stipulated in the United Nations Charter and recognized by international norms," he stressed.

He noted that labeling the Palestinians groups as terrorists will jeopardize the international campaign against terrorism and that such a communique will put the EU at loggerheads with Muslim states.

Iran, which does not recognize Israel, firmly supports Palestinian struggles in recovering legitimate national rights.