The disclosure came as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visited Paris Wednesday to build post-sanctions business and diplomatic ties.
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French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to France is important for both geopolitical and economic reasons.
He added: ‘I know that Italians are a very hospitable people, a people who try to do the most to put their guests at ease and I thank you for this’.
Iranian officials have said they are poised to agree on a deal for Airbus aircraft, while vehicle manufacturers Peugeot and Renault may also agree contracts.
After starting his trip to Paris by meeting some 20 company executives, Rouhani is due to deliver a speech to business leaders on Thursday at a Franco-Iranian forum, where Iranian ministers will outline their plans.
“Iran is the safest, the most stable country in the entire region”, Rouhani said.
At a press conference rounding off his Rome visit, Rouhani was defiant when asked whether Iran would apologise to Saudi Arabia for an attack on its embassy by demonstrators furious over Riyadh’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.
Balancing Iran’s increasingly closer ties with Russian Federation and China, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is touring Europe to drum up as much renewed business with the West as he can now that his country is free of crippling sanctions.
Decades of sanctions have starved the Iranian economy and isolated Iran.
As anger mounted in Rome on Wednesday over a decision to cover up nude statues with large white panels so as not to offend Mr Rouhani, the French have already made it clear that no such cultural concessions would be made regarding its cherished gastronomy.
Rouhani’s meeting with Hollande is also expected to touch on Iran’s bitter feud with Saudi Arabia.
In Paris, CRIF, the umbrella representative group of French Jewish organisations, recalls the repeated calls by Iranian leaders for the destruction of Israel and called on the French authorities to denounce the organisation by Tehran of a cartoon contest on the Holocaust which, it said, “are in line wqith the negationnist statements of the Iranian leaders”.
This is the first time an Iranian president has officially visited Europe in 16 years.
Meanwhile, the prime minister’s office announced later on Wednesday that it has opened an internal investigation to ascertain responsibilities in the organization of the Rouhani visit to the Capitoline Museums.
Rouhani was originally scheduled to visit Paris in November but the trip was called off after Nov. 13 Islamic extremist attacks that killed 130 people.
Akhoundi’s deputy, Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan, told AFP that Iran “essentially wants to buy Airbus A320s, A321s and A330s”.
“They force any non-Muslim women to cover ourselves in Iran”.
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The Vatican confirmed Rouhani also met with Pope Francis on Tuesday to talk about Iran’s role in restoring peace in the Middle East, as well as the Iranian nuclear deal. Freedom of expression “doesn’t mean offending that which is sacred to other people’s faith”, he said in an apparent reference to the French magazine “Charlie Hebdo”.
