French, Iranian FMs meet in Tehran

On the first visit to Iran for 12 years by a French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius conveyed an invitation from President Francois Hollande to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to visit France in November, according to Euronews.

The last Iranian president to make a state visit to France was Mohammad Khatami in 1999, when Jacques Chirac was president.

Fabius met with Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif and was also due to meet Rouhani on his one-day visit, two weeks after a landmark deal under which Western sanctions are to be lifted in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Zarif said in a televised news conference, “We began good discussions to reach regional cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism.”

Marking a contrast to his tough stance in the nuclear talks, Fabius was quoted as saying by Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB that France wanted to foster good relations with Iran.

He also said that a high-ranking French economic and business delegation would visit Iran in September.

France hopes to secure business deals in Iran once international sanctions are lifted, and Fabius said last week that his hard line in the nuclear negotiations would not stand in the way of French business opportunities.