Austrian foreign minister to visit Iran in September

Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz plans to visit Iran in September, he told ORF radio on Saturday, days after world powers reached a deal in Vienna to curb Tehran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

“I will accompany the federal president on his visit to Iran in September,” Kurz said in an interview with the public broadcaster.

Austria’s federal President Heinz Fischer, who has a largely ceremonial role, accepted in principle more than a year ago an invitation to visit Iran in what would be the first trip for years by a Western head of state.

A spokeswoman for Fischer said no definitive date for the trip had been set yet, adding that the timing of the visit will likely be announced next week.

Fischer had previously hinted his Iran trip would come this year.

Austria, a neutral European Union member, was for centuries a bridgehead for Iran to Europe. Vienna is also home to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is tasked with monitoring and verifying that Iran complies with its commitments under the deal.