against any travel to France because of declining security there.
The warning appeared to be part of a propaganda effort by the regime to convince Iranians that Iran is more stable than many Western countries and to portray Iran’s suppression of dissidents last year as reflecting the norm around the world.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said, “We advise our citizens not to travel to France and, if they do, they should apply precautions.… Obviously, the unstable situation in that country has reached a level that our citizens should be careful.”
But the anti-government protests in France have actually subsided in the past week, so the logic for issuing a warning at this time was obscure at best.
In addition to the protests in France, Mehman-Parast referred to the “economic crisis” in the West and to recent threats by Al-Qaeda.
He portrayed the economic downturn as a possible cause of social collapse in the West, a standard view advocated by the regime..
The Al-Qaeda threats were not targeted on France but on Europe. A month ago, on October 4, the United States warned its citizens traveling in Europe to be aware of the potential for terrorist action by Al-Qaeda anywhere in Europe. It did not advise US citizens to abandon travel to Europe, as Mehman-Parast did with regard to France.
The Iranian media have given a great deal of attention to the protests across France opposing the raising of the pensionable age from 60 to 62. The Iranian media have concentrated on the police actions against the protesters, suggesting that the French police have used more violence than the Iranian police did to keep peace in the streets.
This was believed to be the first time Iran has ever issued such a travel warning. The United States, Canada and a number of Western countries have systems in place for issuing travel warnings and updating them. The US State Department webpage, for example, has an entire section devoted to travel warnings. But Iran does not.