Iranian FM due in Italy next week

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is slated to visit Rom, next week, to confer on the expansion of mutual cooperation between the two states in all fields. Zarif will travel to Rome next week at the invitation of his Italian counterpart Emma Bonino. The Iranian foreign minister will also exchange views on regional and international issues during meetings with Italian officials. On Wednesday, Bonino said if the sanctions on Iran are lifted or eased, the western countries, including Italy, will no doubt vie with each other to win the eye-catching advantages of Iran's great and lucrative market. "On September 26, there was a line of politicians and diplomats at the United Nation General Assembly in New York waiting to see (President) Hassan Rouhani and (Foreign Minister) Zarif. We had to wait for our turn to see them," the Italian top diplomat said. "I wanted to meet Zarif in Rome last Thursday, but the meeting was postponed. We are studying a program for direct cooperation with Iran which is not only on energy," Bonino added. Bonino said Italy was the first western country which underlined the importance of Rouhani's election as the president of Iran.