Italian FM in Iran seeking closer political, economic ties
Rome's delegation to Tehran in bid to ink business deals; Spanish and, Austrian officials expected next month
Italy’s foreign minister eyed renewed economic ties with Iran during a trip to the Islamic Republic on Tuesday — an official visit to improve relations between the two countries after Tehran reached an agreement on its nuclear program with world powers last month.
Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who was accompanied by an economic delegation, told Iran’s Mehr News before the trip that “Italy’s economic ties with Iran have definitely suffered during the sanctions era, but the recent nuclear agreement will serve as an opportunity for a gradual improvement in the two countries’ relations.”
Gentoli’s visit was the latest by European officials in Iran on the heels of the nuclear deal. France, Germany and Serbia sent officials and delegations to Iran last month in a bid to secure possible economic opportunities.
Spain and Austria are scheduled to send delegations next month.
Germany was quickest out of the blocks. A week after the deal was inked in July 14, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel became the first senior Western official to visit Iran
The three-day trip alongside German business leaders was criticized by Jewish groups and opposition lawmakers, who urged Germany to consider its special responsibility toward Israel, which considers the Islamic Republic a threat to its national security, and which Tehran’s leaders have repeatedly threatened to destroy. Activists warned that Iran’s human rights record and support for President Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria should make Western governments think twice.
Gabriel dismissed that criticism, saying the earlier sanctions against Iran only had “one concrete reason and that was the nuclear negotiations.”
He said making countries’ human rights situation the basis for economic ties would mean calling into question relations with other nations, such as China.
Gabriel did, however, tell the Iranians that many cannot accept Iran questioning Israel’s right to exist, and warned it could harm business relations between the two countries.
German companies did extensive business in Iran for decades until sanctions forced them to all but pull out.
Switzerland, which for decades acted as an intermediary between the United States and Iran, and represents American consular interests in Iran, also hopes to profit from its good standing with the government there.