Liquid lunch? No thanks, Iran tells France in ‘wine row’

A lunch between the French president and his Iranian counterpart is unlikely to happen after the latter requested for wine to be left off the table, media reports said on Tuesday.

Iranian President Hassan Rowhani reportedly asked for a halal food menu during a lunch with Francois Hollande at the Elysée during his visit next week to Paris, with the Iranian presidency requesting halal meat to be served.

But Rowhani has reportedly turned down the invitation after the Elysée rejected his request, according to RTL radio.

“A meal had been planned but fell through,” a source involved in French–Iranian affairs told RTL radio’s website.

During the planned official lunch, the two heads of state are due to discuss a recent historic nuclear deal with Iran.

The controversy over alcohol has threatened to overshadow Rowhani’s historic visit to France, who will be the first Iranian leader to travel to Europe in a decade.