Austrian Newspaper: Cancellation of Rouhani's Trip Due to Anti-Islamic Republic Protests

An Austrian newspaper has reported that the reason for the cancellation of Hassan Rouhani's trip to the country was the Austrian government's refusal to prevent an anti-Islamic Republic demonstration coinciding with Rouhani's visit to Vienna. The newspaper 'Die Presse' in its issue on Wednesday, April 11, citing diplomatic sources, reported that the Iranian government had asked the Austrian government to prevent a demonstration against the Islamic Republic during Rouhani's visit. However, the Austrian government stated that it could not impede the right of individuals and groups to hold peaceful protests and rejected this request. Heinz Fischer, the President of Austria, also told the national television that the visit of his Iranian counterpart would not take place during his presidency. Fischer emphasized that there were no 'security risks' regarding this trip. Rouhani was scheduled to make a two-day visit to Austria on Wednesday and Thursday (April 11 and 12), and according to Die Presse, groups of Islamic Republic opponents planned to hold a protest in Vienna on Wednesday against this trip. The Iranian government announced one day before this trip that Rouhani had canceled his visit 'for security reasons' and postponed it to another time. The Iranian president had previously visited two European countries, Italy and France, this winter. While Rouhani's trip to Italy occurred without significant opposition activity, Paris witnessed protests with hundreds of Islamic Republic opponents during his visit. Although 'security reasons' were cited as the reason for the cancellation of Rouhani's trip to Austria, officials from that country emphasized that necessary guarantees for the security of this trip had been provided.