TEHRAN, March 10 (UPI) -- An Iranian military leader said Monday he was frustrated that Catherine Ashton, the foreign policy chief for the EU, met with women dissidents in Tehran.
Ashton said in a statement Sunday she met with women activists in Iran following nuclear talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
"I met with women activists on International Women's Day and talked to them about the situation that women find themselves in and some of the work that these women are engaged in," she said.
Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency reported Monday the policy chief met with a number of female dissidents who were arrested for their role in the uprising that followed former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election in 2009.
Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazzayeri, deputy chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, said Ashton should show more sensitivity.
"We won't allow the West to meddle in Iran's internal affairs under any pretext," he was quoted by Fars as saying.
He added he was frustrated Ashton used a diplomatic opportunity to meet with members of Iranian society opposed to the spirit of the country's 1979 revolution.
Ashton said it was "interesting" to see that Iranian people "wanted to talk across a spectrum of different issues and have been willing to meet with me."
On the nuclear issue, Ashton said there was "no guarantee" an interim agreement would lead to a comprehensive deal that would allay the concerns over Iran's nuclear program.
