EU condemnation of Iran's Human rights record, particularly, its treatment of dissident reporters, irked Iran. The foreign ministry summoned the British ambassador in Tehran to protest about a British-issued EU statement. The European Union called on Tehran to adhere to its international obligations and commitments to human rights higlighting the plight of journalist Akbar Ganji and lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani. The Eu argued that their imprisonments “are in contravention of principles in international conventions that Iran has signed up to”.

The EU condemnation followed the passage of an American backed UN resolution.

This united front makes it more difficulty for Iran to intimidate critics and As Frieda notes, Iranian authorities can dismiss foreign protests over its nuclear development by claiming to be motivated by the wish to protect the Iranian people. They cannot use the same excuse to justify prosecuting Iranians. Hence, focusing on human rights issues give hope to opposition groups and increases the regime's vulnerability."The regime can not fool the people claiming that they are doing this (human rights violations) to protect Iranians! They can not say, we are violating human rights to make Iran a stronger country!"