The group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) in the European Parliament slammed the scheduled visit this week of a delegation of members of the parliament to Iran for not setting any preconditions such as the Iranian regime to allow them to meet with opposition activists or debating the human rights situation in the country.
The delegation had been postponed several times in the past after objections were raised.
The 10-member delegation will head to Tehran on Friday for a 4-day visit to reestablish links with politicians and to discuss human rights issues, a member of the delegation told Agence France Presse.
It will be the first such visit to Iran in six years.
The official itinerary for the visit has yet to be finalized but will include meetings with the authorities and deputies, said Belgian Green MEP Isabelle Durant.
According to her, there will also be informal meetings with opponents of the regime and human rights activists, she said.
Among these activists are filmmaker Jafar Panahi and lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, the 2012 winners of the EU's Sakharov prize for human rights.
In October 2012, the European, Parliament delegation cancelled a planned trip to Iran after authorities refused to allow delegates to meet with Panahi and Sotoudeh.
ECR leader Martin Callanan said that Iran's human rights record is showing no sign of improvement under President Hassan Rouhani, and the MEPs should not be making the visit until there is a clear change of attitude on questions surrounding human rights, support for terror, and clear action regarding nuclear proliferation.
"Left wing MEPs are being exceptionally naive to think that this delegation is likely to have a positive impact on the ground,’’ Callanan said.
‘’The Rouhani regime may have come to the table over its nuclear ambitions but it is still a state that supports terror and executes hundreds of opponents every year. This leopard has not changed his spots.’’
Her continued, "We should only reestablish this kind of contact with Iran once the regime has shown a sustained commitment to improving its abysmal human rights record. It is regrettable that this group of MEPs have had their bags packed for several years and wasted no time to book their flights to Tehran. The fact that they are travelling with only a proposed programme of meetings is very concerning. The same conditions should apply as before: that they will only travel if guaranteed access to opposition activists.’’
"We should show the EU's support for reformist moderate elements in Iran. Unfortunately, this delegation risks handing a despotic regime a propaganda coup,’’ the British Conservative MEP said.
"European nations and the USA brought Iran to the table through their resolve and strength. That hard work cannot be undermined by a delegation of well-meaning but utterly naive left-wing MEPs spreading mixed messages. This delegation seriously risks handing Rouhani an early Christmas present,’’ he added.
European Union sanctions against Iran could be eased later this month, after the interim six-month deal signed on November 24 between the P5+1 world powers and Iran that stipulated Iran is to freeze its controversial nuclear program.
"A Europe-wide decision is necessary" to ease EU sanctions, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told Europe 1 radio. "That's expected in several weeks, for a partial lifting that is targeted, reversible."
"It could be in December, it could be in January, it depends on how long the legislative process takes," said Michael Mann, spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
President Barack Obama on Monday defended the agreement, declaring that the United States "cannot close the door on diplomacy."
"Tough talk and bluster may be the easy thing to do politically, but it's not the right thing to do for our security," he said during an event in San Francisco.
The United States and the EU have separate sanctions on Iran. Easing European restrictions would affect numerous areas including trade in petrochemicals, gold and other precious metals, financial transfers to purchase food and medicine, and the ability of third countries to use EU-based firms to acquire shipments of Iranian oil again.
Mann cautioned that changes on the sanctions depend on the Iranian government living up to its end of the deal.
"It's important that both sides of the bargain are implementing this agreement, so we would coordinate timing-wise also with the Iranian side," he said.
Despite US President Barack Obama's hopes that no new sanctions will be levied on Iran while the interim agreement is in effect, some US lawmakers want to push ahad with additional measures.
A new sanctions bill has already passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, and if it passes the Senate, Obama could have to veto legislation to prevent the derailment of ongoing talks.