Iranian President Rouhani Begins 4-day European Visit

It was the first state visit by an Iranian president to the Vatican since 1999, although President Mohammad Khatami was among the many world leaders who attended the funeral of Pope John Paul in 2005.

Careful not to upset the Iranian president’s sensitivities, according to a spokesman for Rome City Hall, Italian officials placed several classical Roman-era nude statues inside tall white wooden cartons when Rouhani visited the museums. He told the pope the red-toned carpet was made in the Iranian holy city of Qhom.

The pope reportedly gave Rouhani a medal depicting St. Martin giving his cloak to a poor man, describing the act of the saint as “a sign of unsolicited brotherhood”.

As he left the apostolic palace, Rouhani said to Pope Francis: “I ask you to pray for me”.

Matteo Renzi told reporters after meeting privately with Rouhani that the landmark deal on curbing Iran’s nuclear activities “is just a first step for a new season of peace and prosperity, not just in Iran, but in all the region”.

Iran’s president has asked Pope Francis to pray for him after private talks at the Vatican.

Rouhani also pledged that Tehran would do nothing to jeopardise its stability and said economic growth could help beat terrorism in the region. “We must enhance rather respect and differences”, head of the Italian culture ministry’s Superior Council for Cultural Heritage said on Italian television, cited by AFP. Those sanctions have recently been lifted as part of a deal that Rouhani championed, arguing since his 2013 election that it’s in his nation’s best interest to resolve the issue and become more involved in world economic and political affairs.

Some even compared Italy unfavorably to France, because when Rouhani was invited to a formal lunch at the Élysée in Paris last November, French President Hollande refused to remove the wine from the table.

On Monday, Italy announced more than $18 million in contracts including steel exports and road and rail work.

It was Italian PM Matteo Renzi’s order to hide all the nude sculptures on display at Capitoline Museum, so as not to offend Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, local media reported.

This is the first time an Iranian president has officially visited Europe in 16 years.

A visit to a museum on Tuesday provoked some raised eyebrows after it was revealed that naked statues had been covered in boxes.

Italy and Iran will sign up to 17 billion euros of business deals during the two day visit of the Iranian delegation which began on Monday, but Italian opposition leaders and commentators said Renzi had gone too far to please his guest.