Iranian FM calls off Paris trip after a diplomatic spat

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has called off a visit to Paris after a diplomatic spat with France, a French official said Saturday. The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the French ambassador to Teheran this week to protest remarks French President Nicolas Sarkozy made about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. A French Foreign Ministry official said Iranian Mottaki had been due to meet his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner, Saturday and to attend a foreign minister's conference on Afghanistan Sunday. The official, who asked not to be named, citing department policy, said it was unclear who would represent Iran at the conference. Officials at the Iranian embassy in Paris were not available for comment.