With Sanctions Gone, Iran Cuts Major Deals With Europe

The French carmaker pulled out of the country in 2012 as sanctions began to bite.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls responded that “Iran can count on France”.

“Iran’s needs are enormous”, said Pierre Gattaz, head of France’s Medef employers association.

The Iranian delegation is on a 2-day visit in Paris. “Welcome Rouhani, executioner of freedom”, said a banner painted in red, hung from a footbridge over the Seine.

“Paris-Tehran ties will damage no other party, but will bring economic reshuffle to the region instead; I am resolve enough to say that investment in Iran would provide security and a fair level of benefits for investors; today, the conditions could not have been better for boosting mutual ties, where however, we should take well-calculated steps”, Rouhani asserted.

The deals come despite continued diplomatic tension – France was one of Iran’s fiercest critics during the sanctions-lifting talks.

But Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Tehran had not been contacted by Moscow over oil output cuts.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting with French Senate President Gerard Larcher, in Paris, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016.

Rouhani arrived in Paris after a trip to Rome earlier this week. Most Iranian executions are linked to drug smuggling.

“It is up to the Syrian people to make decisions for their country”, Rouhani said at a news conference with President Francois Hollande when asked whether he was ready to compromise on the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Among the deals announced was the sale of 118 Airbus jets to Iran and an agreement with the French corporation Total to purchase some 200,000 barrels of crude from Iran.

Under the deal announced on Thursday but whose final signature will not be made until the middle of this year, Peugeot and Tehran-based Iran Khodro plan to modernize a factory near Tehran and be producing cars by mid 2017.

“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”, she said.

Rouhani also visited the Vatican for the first time and met Pope Francis, who has urged Iran to work for peace in the Middle East.

Access to the Iranian economy remains restricted by mostly US sanctions, which limit the mechanisms for financial transactions.

Mr Rouhani is also meeting on Thursday with the chief of Unesco, the Paris-based UN cultural body, and speaking to high-level French executives whose companies are interested in resuming trade with his long-isolated nation of 80 million people.

Some 20 agreements were signed in the presence of the two leaders, including in the areas of health, agriculture and the environment.

The trip is an effort to usher in a new era after a landmark accord to curb Iran’s nuclear program and lift Western sanctions.

Zarif and Fabius signed a set of letters of intent on political dialogue between Iran and France and the establishment of business council.