TEHRAN, June 27 – Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi has condemned a statement by G8 foreign ministers about Iran’s post-election developments as “interfering and hasty”.

“This election with the participation of 85 percent of the eligible voters in a completely competitive and open atmosphere… is regarded as a turning point in the history of religious democracy,” he told reporters in Tehran.

 

Foreign ministers of the Group of Eight leading powers Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States said on Friday they were “concerned about the aftermath of the Iranian presidential election”.

 

“We fully respect the sovereignty of Iran. At the same time we deplore post-election violence which led to the loss of lives of Iranian civilians and urge Iran to respect fundamental human rights,” the ministers said after talks in Trieste, Italy.

 

Qashqavi countered by saying, “The world expected the meeting of the eight industrial countries’ foreign ministers, in the light of their prearranged agenda, to address the serious problems that lie ahead of these countries and the international community.”

 

He also dismissed recent remarks by European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering about June 12 presidential election as “irresponsible”.

 

“The Islamic Republic of Iran views the interfering statements by the president of the European parliament as irresponsible and unacceptable,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman stated.

 

Poettering said on Wednesday that he hopes to lead a delegation of European deputies to Iran to study an election which he claimed appears to be a massive fraud.