Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib is facing calls for her resignation after granting visa approvals to delegations from Iranian and Russian cities to attend a mayors' conference in Brussels last week. Lahbib is under scrutiny for her consent to visa requests from citizens of these two countries, which are under international sanctions, just three weeks after the release of Olivier Vandecasteele, who worked for a Belgian NGO, from Iranian prison.
Iranian-born Belgian MP Darya Safai, from the opposition New Flemish Alliance party, stated today that her party demands Lahbib's resignation. Safai said, "We need a minister who takes responsibility," pointing out, "The question raised is why she approved these visas? Why did she grant them just three weeks after the release of Olivier Vandecasteele and accepted the arrival of terrorists in Brussels? And why is Belgium's name always tarnished by foreign relations it cannot manage?"
