TEHRAN – Austrian President Heinz Fischer has said that the European Union opens doors to expand cooperation with Iran on international issues.

During a meeting with Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani in Tehran on Tuesday, Fischer said that his trip to Iran shows Austria’s interest in expanding relations with Iran.

He also said that it is the time to make every effort to expand economic ties after the nuclear agreement.

For his part, Larijani said there is “good” and “friendly” relations between Iran and Austria.

Iran’s parliament supports expanding ties with Austria in political and economic areas, he added. He also thanked Austria for hosting the nuclear talks.

Elsewhere, he said that a specific committee in Iran’s parliament is examining the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the result of MPs’ final view will be announced.

Iran and the 5+1 group - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany - finalized the text of the JCPOA in Vienna on July 14.

On July 20, the UN Security Council turned the JCPOA into international law by endorsing a resolution, setting the stage for the lifting of the Security Council sanctions against Iran.

------- Rafsajani says terrorism is rooted in ‘hegemony’ and ‘colonialism’


In a separate meeting with the Austrian president on Wednesday, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani urged the sides of the nuclear agreement to abide by their commitments.

Rafsanjani, chairman of the Expediency Council, suggested that both sides of the agreement should prevent domestic and foreign extremists from interfering in implementing the nuclear agreement.


Commenting on Iran-U.S. relations in the future, he said that the U.S. should adopt a “fair” policy to compensate for mistakes it made in the past.

Iran is ready to expand relations with all the countries especially the European ones based on mutual interests, he noted.

On crises in the Middle East region, he said that an “actual” cooperation is required to restore peace in the region.

He added that terrorism in the world is rooted in “hegemony” and “colonialism”.

Rafsanjani also highlighted the importance of Europe’s help in countering terrorism.

Fischer said that Austria prioritizes peaceful cooperation based on mutual respect with other countries especially Iran.

He also said that the problems in the world can be solved through “dialogue”.

NA/PA