Senior Iranian judiciary officials said they paid little...

Senior Iranian judiciary officials said they paid little attention to European opinions on human rights, undermining European Union efforts to encourage reform in the Islamic state. "We neither shiver at their statements nor thrill at their encouragement," Mohammad Javad Larijani, the judiciary's head of international affairs, told state television after two days of talks with EU officials on human rights. EU officials had expressed frustration at slow progress in the rights talks and were under pressure from rights activists to get tougher with Iran on issues such as political prisoners, discrimination against women and lack of free speech. EU diplomats said Iran appeared content to drag out the talks while failing to address the issues raised by the Europeans.