The outside world should be extremely wary of giving support to those demonstrating against the regime in Iran for fear of giving ‘the kiss of death’ to developments, according to Denmark’s Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller.

Møller’s statements come following heavy criticism from the Socialist People’s Party, which has accused the government of being much too passive and reserved in its reactions against Iran.

“If we make the demonstrators’ issues our own, the regime will say that they are foreign agents. The more we embrace them, the more difficult we make it for them – and the easier it becomes for the regime to crack down on them – including having the understanding of the Iranian population,” Per Stig Møller tells Ritzau.

“One will give them the kiss of death in adopting their issues as our own, because then it suddenly becomes Iran against the Western world,” Stig Møller says.

SF understands
The Socialist People’s Party Political Spokesman Holger K. Nielsen says he understands the argument.

“But one should be careful not to use this as a moral pretext for inaction. The foreign minister has been very passive in his communication,” Nielsen says.

Former Social Liberal Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen says he understands the government position.

“It is important to be cautious about political comments. We must not give the regime any excuse to crack down even more on demonstrators,” Helveg Petersen says.