Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey has called on Iranian authorities to show restraint in the use of force against peaceful demonstrators.
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Speaking to journalists in Bern on Tuesday she said freedom of expression must be maintained and urged Tehran to check complaints about alleged irregularities in the June 12 presidential elections.
The minister said Switzerland had been in contact with the Iranian authorities via diplomatic channels, but had refrained from making public statements until now.
“We don’t want to endanger the opposition. Also we must keep open dialogue with Iran since we represent Washington’s interests in Tehran,” she explained.
She added that the Swiss ambassador to Tehran, Livia Leu Agosti, was in contact with the Iranian foreign ministry and kept the Swiss government informed about developments in Iran.
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Swiss urge moderation from Iranian leaders
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On Tuesday Iran’s top legislative body ruled out annulling a disputed presidential poll that has prompted the biggest street protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution, but said it was prepared for a partial recount. In what appeared to be a first concession by authorities to the protest movement, the 12-man Guardian Council said it was…
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Khamenei’s intervention came as shots were fired during a third day of street protests by hundreds of thousands of reformists, who claim that official voting figures in Friday’s election were a “charade”. On Saturday the Iranian government declared that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won a landslide presidential victory: 63 per cent versus 33 per cent…
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She also attended the signing of an agreement on natural gas supply between Tehran and a private Swiss energy company, EGL. It is a key element of the country’s strategy to diversify its energy supplies. The natural gas from Iran together with natural gas from Azerbaijan is expected to feed into a gas pipeline running…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.