Iranian Paper Warns French on Aid to Iraq

TEHRAN — An Iranian newspaper Sunday said the French government should give up the “dangerous game” of supplying weapons to Iran’s enemy, Iraq.

The newspaper Islamic Republic, which usually reflects the thinking of Iran’s foreign policy makers, said Iran and France are headed for strained relations again.

This is because Paris “repeats its mistakes and, by unjustifiable support of the aggressive Iraqi regime, burns bridges behind it one after another,” it added.

The government of French Premier Jacques Chirac had made an effort to improve relations with Tehran since coming to power last March, hoping to secure freedom for French hostages held in Lebanon, the paper said.

“Paris pretended for a while to understand the problems of the region and adopt a wise policy, but evidence indicates that all that was more of a political propaganda ploy of a newly installed government,” Islamic Republic said.