Australian FM Due in Tehran Friday: Iranian Spokeswoman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Foreign Minister of Australia Julie Bishop will pay an official visit to Tehran on Friday at the invitation of her Iranian counterpart, Spokeswoman for Iranian Foreign Ministry Marziyeh Afkham announced on Wednesday.
Bishop will arrive in Iran on Friday and begin talks and consultations with Iranian officials the following day, Afkham said in her weekly press conference.
This will be the first official visit of a senior Australian official to Iran in more than a decade. Alexander Downer was the last Australian foreign minister to visit Iran in 2003.
Bishop had earlier said she is looking forward to visiting Iran "to discuss the nuclear issue and other important bilateral and regional issues with Foreign Minister Zarif and other Iranian leaders."
Her trip comes days after Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UNSC members plus Germany) reached a framework nuclear agreement.
They reached the framework deal on April 2 after more than a week of intensive negotiations in Lausanne, Switzerland, with both sides committed to push for a final, comprehensive accord until the end of June.