The visit of Pope Francis to Iran will support all the Christians of the region. Large Iranian businessman Mehdi Firouzan, who accompanied Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during his trip to Italy, told the aforementioned in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano.     

Firouzan is not only from an influential family: he belongs to the same kin as Lebanese Imam Moussa Sadr - one of the most influential and charismatic leaders of the Shia world - who went missing in Libya in 1978. 

“We thank Italy since it never left us. Italy has always been a mediator between Iran and Europe. When the oil industry was nationalized, nobody wanted to speak to us but Italy,” Firouzan said.

According to him, a Christian community important for Iran lives in the country; there are also Christians in the parliament. And the Pope’s visit, in his words, will support all the Christians of the region, who are killed together with Muslims by the ISIL terrorists.

“And, believe me, if the international community wants to win these killers, it must look at Iran, since we are the only stable country in this enormous territory. If Europe points to Iran and Rouhani, it will be able to establish a new order of peace and dialogue. This will open a new stage in the history of our own country in terms of respecting the human rights,” he said.