Iran, Italy hold talks on long-standing relations in Rome

Iranian and Italian Deputy Foreign Ministers Seyyed Kazem Sajjadpour and Marina Sereni have met in the Italian capital to discuss ways to nurture the two countries' long-standing cultural and commercial relations.

Current tensions between Iran and the United States over the economic warfare against the Islamic Republic have also been impacting Tehran's ties with Rome.

According to Press TV, Sajjadpour and Sereni agreed that the two countries have the tools to overcome such problems.
Rome was for long Tehran's primary trading partner among European countries with annual bilateral trade topping more than five billion euros before the re-imposition of sanctions against Iran by US President Donald Trump.

According to some estimates, US sanctions have impacted 30 billion euros of planned Iran-Italy trade and investment.

The meeting between the Iranian diplomat Sajjadpour and Italy's official Marina Sereni has taken place on the sidelines of the fifth edition of the Mediterranean Dialogues Conference – an annual high-level initiative promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting, the Italian official has once again reiterated Italy’s support for the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the JCPOA.

Tehran says the European co-signatories to the deal, namely Britain, France and Germany, have so far failed to uphold their commitments. Iran has stressed that while these countries have voiced support for the deal, they have failed to provide meaningful economic incentives as required under the nuclear agreement.

ME