Speaking through a translator, he said “that allowed us to reach accords” on curbing Iran’s nuclear program and lifting sanctions.
Advertisement
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls responded that “Iran can count on France”.
Hollande, in turn, said Iran and France have agreed to make efforts to protect the cultural heritage of war-torn Iraq and Syria from destruction.
Rouhani’s visit to France was the first by an Iranian president since 1999.
Among those companies was Peugeot, which signed a deal for a joint venture with Iranian carmaker Khodro to manufacture cars in Iran, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Rohani urged the French business leaders for support to unblock financing for resumed trade now that sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program are being implemented.
Pierre Gattaz, head of France’s Medef employers association, said he also expected deals to be signed with French railway operator SNCF, and aluminium company Fives.
CEO of European aerospace giant Airbus Group Thomas Enders (L) shakes hands with Iranian President H …
Rouhani, accompanied by a 120-member delegation of political and commercial leaders, pointed to the business deals as validation of his push for the nuclear accord, which angered some hard-liners in Iran who saw it as too great a concession to the West. It has been advising them ahead of the talks with the government in Geneva that had been due to begin on Friday.
On Thursday, Rouhani will meet with executives of Confindustria French before visiting the Élysée Palace, where he will be received by French President François Hollande.
Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi told Reuters Iran had reached a deal with the planemaker, but declined to give further details. The French automaker Peugeot-Citroen said Thursday it will return to Iran, while Iran appeared poised to buy at least 100 planes from Airbus.
The most eye-catching of the deals is a commitment for Tehran to buy 118 Airbus aircraft to update its ageing fleet.
Iran is second only to China in its use of the death penalty.
“But this is a hand grenade with the pin removed”, he added.
Tensions recently escalated with Saudi Arabia breaking ties with Iran after its embassy in Tehran was mobbed by crowds protesting the execution in Saudi Arabia of a prominent Shiite cleric and opposition figure.
“In Iran in 2016, a person is executed every eight hours”, read one banner. “Apologise to them because they are helping terrorists?” he asked.
But the move to cover the statues angered Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, who labelled it “incomprehensible”.
Advertisement
Marceline Loridan-Ivens, a Holocaust survivor, and Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, the Europe director of the American Jewish Committee, also lamented the timing of the visit, calling it “laughable” in an Op-Ed they coauthored that was published Tuesday by Atlantico.fr, a centrist news and analysis site.
