Hassan Rouhani Ready To ‘Turn The Page’ In Iran-France Relations

Rouhani was formally welcomed to Paris by Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius with military honours and national anthems, for the first visit to France by an Iranian president for 17 years.

Rouhani signed off on deals with a total value of about 15 billion euros ($16 billion) in a ceremony at the Elysee Palace, official residence of his French counterpart Francois Hollande.

Plywood panels cover nude statues during a meeting in Rome between Italian Premier Matteo Renzi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Paris also wants to draw Tehran into a role as peacemaker in a Middle East that is fraught with civil war in Syria, where Iran has played an active role in support of President Bashar Assad, and in Yemen.

“We organized this public display as a little reminder of the fact that every year, more than 800 people are sentenced to death in his country”, Femen France’s spokesperson Sarah Constantin told reporters. “200,000 have swarmed [our borders], what do we do now?'”, he said.

Rouhani decried the sanctions his country was previously under, saying history has shown that they “never worked”. He did not elaborate.

He is also said to have asked for Halal meat to be served – which was also rejected by the French hosts. “Tehran will pay for the planes in 10 years… all the planes will be new ones”, state TV said.

Earlier this week, Iran said it is also considering direct flights to the United States. Under the new deal, the first cars will be produced in 2017 as part of an agreement worth $436 million over the next five years.

French sources said the sale, which includes both medium- and long-haul planes, will be finalized once global sanctions against Iran are fully lifted.

Nikolai Tokarev, head of Russia’s oil pipeline monopoly Transneft, said on Wednesday Russian officials had decided they should talk to Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries about output cuts aimed at bolstering crude prices.

Rouhani and his French peer Francois Hollande oversaw the signing of the deals that concerned cooperation in a range of sectors such as aviation, vehicle manufacturing and oil among others.

Analysts have noted that the attraction of the Iranian market is clear. But it is worth noting that even if the nuclear program restrictions have been lifted, France is now considering to install new restrictions regarding Iran’s ballistic missile programs and tests. “Iranians need everything. The country is not starting from scratch, it’s got a very educated workforce, a real development potential”.

Yet clouds hung over the historic outreach trip. The U.S. still maintains many sanctions on Iran linked to human rights and terrorism.

But the multibillion-dollar deals carved out in Italy and France have also stirred opposition from rights groups and activists. He is due to deliver a speech to business leaders on Thursday at a Franco-Iranian forum, where Iranian ministers will outline their plans.