Bertie Ahern to meet with government officials in Iran

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern is in Iran this week and is due to give a speech about economic developments in Europe to a foreign policy thinktank in the Islamic republic.

It is also expected that Mr Ahern will meet with Iranian government officials during his stay, diplomatic sources told the Irish Examiner yesterday.

Mr Ahern is the second former EU prime minister to visit Tehran in recent weeks as the country continues a charm offensive with western countries on the back of a temporary nuclear peace deal. Former Italian prime minister Massimo D’Alema visited in December.

An Oireachtas foreign affairs committee also visited Tehran in early January.

Iran is hoping to open lucrative trade deals with the West after agreeing to limit its nuclear development.

Mr Ahern will speak at the Institute for Political and International Studies on the economic crisis in Europe and future prospects for EU states.

A friend of his said the trip had been planned for some time. It could not be confirmed how it was financed.

The former Fianna Fáil leader was previously listed as a speaker with the Washington Speakers Bureau. After his resignation as taoiseach in 2008, he visited a number of countries such as China, Nigeria, Germany, and Hungary to give speeches.

Mr Ahern has previously signalled his support for co-operation between Europe and Iran.

During a trade mission to Saudi Arabia at the end of his second term as taoiseach in 2007, he said the EU and Iran “should be close partners”.

He said relations between Iran and the international community had been “dominated in recent years by the nuclear issue”.

Mr Ahern added: “We do not seek to deprive Iran of its rights, but to ensure and verify that its exercise of those rights is consistent with international peace and security.”