Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani is on a historic tour in the European Union this week. Accompanied by an esteemed entourage of about 100 Iranian businessmen, Rouhani was received with honors in Italy. In Rome he met with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and was received at the Vatican by Pope Francis. From Italy he will continue to France, where he’ll meet with President Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace. At each of these capitals, Rouhani will seek to fill a large shopping basket he’s brought with him from Tehran, which is now rushing to fulfill the nuclear agreement that went into force Jan. 16, almost two weeks ago.
This market, where Iran has been shopping since international economic sanctions have been lifted, is full of hungry buyers and sellers, equally eager to close multimillion dollar deals.