Fabius arrived here Wednesday at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart Mohammad-Javad Zarif on the first such visit in over a decade.
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The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee said on Tuesday the Iran nuclear deal gives Iran a “cash bonanza” while weakening Washington’s ability to pressure Tehran.
“With the new deal – the lifting of sanctions – France intends, if Iran is willing, to be more present in several areas… political, economic, cultural”, said Fabius before meeting Rouhani.
“I hope today’s visit to Iran by my colleague, Mr Fabius, will help prepare the groundwork for expanding relations and removing the misunderstandings that have overshadowed our relationship in the past”, he said.
“It is true that in the past few years, for reasons everybody knows, ties have been weaker”.
The French foreign minister’s arrival was marked by controversy in the Iranian media, however, particularly among conservatives, who demanded that the minister apologise for France’s role in the sale of HIV-contaminated blood to Iran in the 1980s, when Fabius was prime minister.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has been invited to visit Paris in November, Fabius said in Tehran on Wednesday. “Beyond oil and gas, France was extensively involved in Iran’s manufacturing sector” until sanctions became tighter, he said. His visit to Iran, which comes at the invitation of his Iranian opposite number, has raised criticisms in Iran, especially over France’s hard line towards Iran in the course of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program which resulted in an agreement in the Austrian city of Vienna earlier this month.
“It is mentioned in the deal that inspectors should be from countries that have diplomatic relations with Islamic republic of Iran”.
He added that the French foreign minister’s current visit to Tehran and his talks with senior Iranian officials would lay the groundwork for “clearing up certain misunderstandings”.
“Total has been present in Iran’s oil projects for more than 20 years and in view of the intent expressed by the French, a new door is supposed to open for the expansion of the company’s activities in developing Iranian oilfields”, he added.
Fars, a news outlet associated with Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards, quoted Mojtaba Zolnour, a hardline cleric, as criticising the French foreign minister.
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“The Iranian government is steadfast in the path of [implementing] the agreement, and we will fulfill our commitments as long as the opposite side is committed to its obligations”, Rouhani said.
