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 Iran |  Vatican City |
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Holy See–Iran relations refers to the diplomatic relations between theHoly See, which is sovereign over theVatican City, and theIslamic Republic of Iran. Relations, or similarities, have also been noted betweenRoman Catholicism andShia Islam, which are the official religions of the Holy See and Iran, respectively.[1] A few Iranian presidents and diplomats have visited Vatican City, includingMohammad Khatami in 1999[2] andHassan Rouhani in 2016.[3]
Early relations began during the reign of ShahAbbas the Great, when the Persian embassies visited the pope.The two countries have had formal diplomatic relations since 1954, since the pontificate ofPope Pius XII. Relations have been maintained during theIranian Revolution.[4] Iran has a large diplomatic corps at the Vatican, with only theDominican Republic having more diplomats accredited to the Holy See.[4]
In 1979 Pope John Paul II sent envoy to Iran to help to solve the Hostage Crisis.In 2008 relations between Iran and the Holy See were "warming", andMahmoud Ahmadinejad "said the Vatican was a positive force for justice and peace" when he met with thePapal nuncio to Iran, ArchbishopJean-Paul Gobel.[5]
According to an online news story article byCarol Glatz ofCatholic News Service posted on the CNS website on Thursday, October 7, 2010, President Ahmadinejad "toldPope Benedict XVI that he would like to work more closely with the Vatican in an effort to stopreligious intolerance and the breakup of families. The president also appealed to world religions to cooperate in the fight against secularism and materialism, Iranian news agencies reported. The appeals came in a letter that was handed to the pope by Iranian Vice President for Parliamentary AffairsSayyed Mohammad-Reza Mir-Tajeddini, during a brief meeting Oct. 6 at the Vatican. Vatican spokesman Jesuit FatherFederico Lombardi confirmed toCatholic News Service Oct. 7 that the letter was given to the pope and its contents already published by Iranian media outlets. According to reports, the letter praised the pope and the Vatican for criticizing a U.S. pastor's threats to burn copies of theQur'an on September 11. On November 3, the Pope sent the Iranian President a letter in reply, in which he stated that the establishment of a bilateral Vatican-Iranian commission would be a desirable step towards solving the problems of theCatholic Church in Iran.[6]
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