Conversation

Alan Shatter

Much of today’s continuing media coverage of President Higgin’s fawning & deeply disturbing letter of congratulations to Iran’s new President is centred on his bizarre allegations involving Israel’s Dublin embassy, his extraordinary failure to acknowledge his letter was made public by Iran’s Dublin embassy, his irritation that a letter written by him on behalf of the people of Ireland was made public & the Taoiseach deflecting attention by his usual simplistic Tik Tok depiction of the tragic ongoing Middle East conflicts & cynical use of them to attract electoral support. The underlying message from the Aras & government is that our President is above criticism & is entitled to adopt the perspective l’etat c’est moi. The real offence is the substance of the letter sent on July 11 on behalf of the people of Ireland , derived from its Iranian publication, criticised by me on 1/8/2024 which ignored Iran’s internal oppression & state sponsored terrorism. President Higgins signed the letter, is responsible for its content & is clearly standing by it. But it is clear its content reflects Irish government policy & the government’s dedication to fantasy politics on the international stage. If, as now said, much of the letters content originated from the Department of Foreign Affairs that Department has serious questions to answer as does the Tanaiste & Minister for Foreign Affairs as to government policy, the governments obsessive uncritical embrace of the fanatical authoritarian Iranian regime & the government’s moral compass. Our government should also explain why at a time when Iran is the most dedicated instigator of global terrorism, its government persecutes & murders its own people, finances, arms & trains EU designated terrorist Islamic fanatics & advocates Israels total destruction our government has prioritised opening an embassy in Tehran.