Austrian president announces visit to Iran

Austrian President Heinz Fischer is to head an Austrian delegation on a three-day visit to Iran beginning Sept. 7, the first by the head of a European state in a decade, his office announced Thursday.

Fischer will be accompanied by a high-ranking delegation, including Vice-Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sebastian Kurz, and President of the Federal Economic Chambers Christoph Leitl.

They will meet a high-level counterpart from economic, scientific, cultural and media fields.

The visit, which had been postponed numerous times, was said to be contingent on the success of the nuclear deal between Teheran and major world countries.

Following the historic nuclear agreement last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani telephoned Fischer to thank him for Austria's hosting of the negotiations, saying Fischer's visit will usher in a new phase of bilateral relations between the two countries.

For years, Austria has been a bridgehead for Iran to Europe. Vienna is also home to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is responsible for monitoring and verifying that Iran keeps its promises under the nuclear deal.

Leitl had earlier expressed his wish that intensified relations would lead to a five-fold increase in exports to Iran over the medium-term, while Kurz called the developments "a chance for the Austrian economy." Endi