Austrian president ‘likely’ to visit Iran this year

Tehran, April 17, IRNA – Austrian President Heinz Fischer says he may pay an official visit to the Iranian capital, Tehran, later this year, as the likelihood of a deal between Iran and six world powers has increased. Citing the mutual understanding reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers in the Swiss city of Lausanne on April 2, Fischer said that “a trip (to Iran) in the second half of 2015 has become likely.” “The first step is awaiting a final result of the negotiations. Then we will set a date, and only then will the composition of the delegation be an issue,” the Wiener Zeitung newspaper on Thursday quoted Fischer as saying. If the visit occurs, the Austrian president will be the first Western head of state to visit Tehran in recent years. Iran extended an invitation for a state visit to the Austrian president last year. Fischer is expected to take a business delegation of about 10 Austrian companies to the Iranian capital. Austria’s exports to Iran increased to EUR 213.7 million (USD 227.3 million) last year, as imports rose to EUR 19.3 million. Iran and the P5+1 group – the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany – have been negotiating to reach a final agreement over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. The two sides issued a joint statement outlining the parameters of a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) over Tehran’s nuclear program in Switzerland on April 2. The European Union announced Thursday that political directors from Iran and the P5+1 member states will meet in the Austrian capital of Vienna on April 22-23 to start drafting the comprehensive nuclear accord ahead of a self-designated July 1 deadline.