Ghasemi on Monday rejected some Media claims and rumors over the weighty visit of Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven to Tehran, citing the following key points:
1. Unlike the political gossips issued recently, no document or formal agreement was signed between the two countries at the banquet held at the residence of the Swedish ambassador to Tehran. All official contracts and memoranda of understanding between the two countries were signed based on common procedures at Sa’adabad Palace on Saturday morning and in the presence of President Rouhani and the prime minister of Sweden. The agreements include five important documents on cooperation in various spheres of science, technology, telecommunications, economy and commerce.
2. What was inked at Swedish embassy banquet and on the sidelines of the opening of Sweden’s trade office in Tehran, were only some agreements between the private sectors of the two countries as a symbol of opening of trade office and the prime minister's determination to support Swedish private sector in Iran, not contrary to international practices.
3. Banquet at the residence of the ambassador was held at the end of the trip and in honor of the prime minister. The ceremony was held within the framework of common international norms and rules governing the diplomatic missions which were always respected in our country. The presence of officials in such ceremonies is based on observing the necessary norms and mutuality, and is not a personal decision. The limited and regulated partnership is not a new fact and was also done in the previous governments without media rumors to provoke public opinion.
4. Swedish prime minister’s visit to our country is conducted for the first time in the history of bilateral relations between the two countries, who in addition to meeting with the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei and President Rouhani, yielded many achievements, especially in the economic sphere which confirms the will of the leaders of the two countries to deepen bilateral and multilateral relations in all fields. It also indicates Europe and the world’s interest for cooperation with Iran, despite the poisonous atmosphere produced by the Zionist regime and its allies against the Islamic Republic.
The objection, however was not limited to Iranian officials. Female Swedish officials were also criticized for wearing hijab in Iran and during their meetings with Iranian authorities, to which they responded underlining that wearing hijab is a law in Islamic Republic.
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