Islam Times - Dutch FM Due in Tehran for Bilateral Talks

Islam Times - The Netherlands’ Foreign Minister Stef Blok is slated to pay an official visit to Iran on Friday and Saturday and hold talks with senior officials of the Islamic Republic on issues of mutual interest.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Dutch top diplomat will meet with President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The talks will be focused on bilateral, regional and international issues, according to the statement.

The visit would come as relations between Tehran and Amsterdam have soured in the past few years following the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats from the Netherlands in June 2018 and Tehran’s reciprocal measure in February 2019.

After Iran’s expulsion of two Dutch diplomats, the Netherlands summoned its ambassador to Tehran to hold consultations, and summoned the Iranian ambassador, describing the act as “unacceptable” and “having negative consequences” for bilateral relations.

The Dutch foreign ministry had earlier in June expelled the two Iranian diplomats.