Iran and Italy maintain diplomatic relations. Diplomatic ties were formally established between Qajar Iran and the Kingdom of Italy on 18 February 1886. Their relations are one of the oldest documented relationships in world history, stretching back over two thousand years with contacts between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic. The two powers often clashed militarily across Armenia and Mesopotamia, but they also traded extensively, influencing each other’s art, luxury goods, and political culture. Roman luxury goods such as glassware and fine metals reached Iran, while Persian silk, textiles, and horses were prized in Rome.
Under the Sassanid and later the Byzantine Empires, this mixture of conflict and exchange continued. The relationship grew even more structured, with both sides recognizing each other as major world powers and maintaining formal diplomatic missions. After the fall of Rome, Italian city-states such as Venice, Genoa, and Florence established commercial ties with Iran. Italian merchants traveled across Iran on the Silk Road, and Persian diplomatic envoys visited Italy. The Renaissance brought a renewed European fascination with Persian culture, literature, and science, often transmitted through Italian scholars who had contact with the East.
By the Safavid period, formal diplomatic relations became more regular. Italy—divided into various states at the time—maintained contacts with the Persian court, particularly through Venice and the Papal States, both of which saw Iran as a counterweight to the Ottoman Empire. Cultural exchange deepened as well, with Persian art influencing Italian collectors and craftsmen.
In the modern era, Italy is one of Iran’s closest European partners in archaeology and cultural studies. Italy-Iran cooperation in the field of archeology dates back to 1959 and has continued since then. Italian archaeologists were among the first Western scholars studying ancient Iranian sites, and even during periods of sanctions or political strain, Italy often acted as a diplomatic bridge between Iran and the West. This long continuity made Iran–Italy relations some of the deepest between Iran and any European country.
Overview In 2005, Italy was the third largest trading partner of Iran with 7.5% of all exports to Iran. Italy was Iran's largest trading partner in the European Union in 2017.
Italy has maintained active diplomatic channels with Tehran even in periods of heightened tensions between the European Union and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Despite the severity of international sanctions that substantially reduced prospects of trade with Iran, Italian officials retained communication with Iranian counterparts on soft political issues, albeit just at low-level exchanges during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
After the interim nuclear deal was agreed in 2013, Italy's Emma Bonino became the first European foreign minister to visit Tehran since the tenure of President Mohammad Khatami. In both her capacity as Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and later as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini strongly backed the nuclear negotiations. She also reiterated that a breakthrough in the talks could lead to a new chapter for Iran and the West going beyond non-proliferation issues.
In 2015, during an interview with Italian broadcaster RAI, President Hassan Rouhani said that Italy was the first trade partner among European Union states for several years before the international sanctions and that Iran regards Italy as the most important country for trade and economic cooperation.
In 2026, during the 2026 Iran conflict, Italy sent air defence aid to the Gulf countries, attacked by Iran. in her statement on why Italy is sending aid to the region, Meloni said: "This is not only because they are friendly nations, but above all because tens of thousands of Italians live in the region and around 2,000 Italian troops are deployed there – people we want to, and must, protect,".
Historical relations
Antiquity
The relations between Iran and Italy have ancient origins. The relationship between the two countries dates back to when the Parthian Empire and the Roman Empire shared borders in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Middle Ages Since the 12th century to the Shah dynasty, a small percent of Italian traders, workers, and Catholics settled in Iran. Cities such as Venice and Genoa were major trading powers, and their merchants sought valuable goods from the East, such as silk, spices, precious stones, and carpets. Persia, strategically located along the Silk Road, became an important destination for Italian merchants, with cities such as Tabriz serving as key trading hubs. Italian traders established trading posts in Tabriz and other Persian cities, conducting business with local merchants and travelers from across Asia and the Middle East.
While some Italian traders traveled back and forth between Europe and Persia, others settled more permanently, engaging with local communities and marrying into Persian families. Italian merchants brought European goods, art, and ideas to Persia, while taking back luxury items such as Persian silk, carpets, and spices to European markets, enhancing trade relations between the two regions. Over time, the influence of Italian traders in Persia declined with the rise of other European powers such as the Portuguese, Dutch, and British, who developed direct sea routes to the East, diminishing the importance of the overland routes through Persia.
Early Modern Period After the unification of Italy in 1861, they signed a friendship agreement and a commercial treaty in 1873. During the Second World War, the alliance was interrupted momentarily, but it was picked up again at the end of the conflict. Moreover, part of the Iranian intellectual elite of the late nineteenth century, who were modernist and open to the western world, found refuge in Italy during the political turmoil of the twentieth century until the constitutional revolution of 1906.
Modernity A friendship agreement between Iran and Italy was signed by the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohsen Rais and Italy's ambassador to Iran, Alberto Rossi Longhi, in Tehran on 24 September 1950.
In 1977 the President of the Republic, Giovanni Leone made a state trip to Tehran, as the head of a high-level political and economic delegation to normalize the relations between the states, especially in the economic sphere. After the Islamic revolution in 1979, Italian public opinion, led by the leftist parties sustained Iran. Meanwhile, the Italian government was aligned with the American position in favour of economic sanctions against Iran. During the Iran–Iraq War, when Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, fought against Iran, Italy declared its neutrality.
Following the war and the election of Mohammad Khatami as president of the Islamic republic, relations improved. In 1999 Khatami visited Rome to meet with the Italian government, and he remarked on the start of a new phase of reconstruction, in which Italian energy companies tried to carve out a role in projects concerning infrastructures, energy, and technology. In the years of Mahamoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, who belonged to the conservative sphere, diplomatic relations improved because Iran regarded Italy as one of its major western allies.
Enrico Mattei, the founder of ENI, concluded a favourable agreement in 1957 for the Iranian government, pulling ENI away from the Seven Sisters' influence. Mattei took advantage of the Suez crisis and contacted the Shah of Persia, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He proposed an agreement that marked a structural innovation in the world of oil companies. The deal included a company that was 50% owned by the Iranian state. What remained would be divided between Eni and NIOC, granting Iran a total share of 75%. On 14 March 1957 a deal between Eni and NIOC was signed and in the same year, on 8 September the SIRIP, Società Irano-Italienne des Pétroles, was born. The agreement failed and Mattei died in 1962 in an aeroplane crash.
Italy was the first commercial partner of Iran from 2006 to 2012. In those same years, since Iran decided to keep pursuing its plan to develop and use nuclear energy, the US and the EU imposed economic and financial sanctions on some key sectors for Iran. Those penalties weighed on its trade with Italy. In 2013 Hassan Rouhani, the seventh President of the Islamic Republic of Iran considered Italy as the door to establish the relations with the rest of the EU. Until the sanctions imposed by the Security Council on Iran for the enrichment of depleted uranium, Iranian oil reserves covered 90% of Italy's oil needs. The embargo was revoked only in January 2014, followed by an Interim Deal between UE+3 and Iran, established in 2013. The following year, after the conclusion of the deal on nuclear energy oil, an Italian delegation guided by Carlo Calenda, consisting in Confindustria's leaders and CEI that represented 180 small-medium companies and 12 banks, arrived in Iran. The goal was to prepare the state for the removal of penalties imposed in 2006 for the nuclear program.
After the entry into force of the JCPOA in 2015 and the interruption of the sanctions, Rouhani chose Italy for his first state trip. On this occasion, the memorandum of understanding for a total of twenty billion euros was signed. Among the most important groups involved there were Pessina, Saipem, Danieli, Fincantieri, Gavio Group, COET, Vitali, SEA, Enel, Belleli, Stefano Boeri Architetti, Itway, Italtel, Marcegaglia, Fata Spa, IMQ, and so on.
Many agreements never materialized, due to the primary sanctions imposed by the US, but also secondary sanctions not related to the nuclear problem. Large banking groups, due to their links with the US market, could not make transactions to the Iran market. They risked incurring US Treasury sanctions. Part of this problem was addressed in January 2018 by the Ministry of Economic Development with the proposal of a Master Credit Agreement. It intended to regulate any future financing agreement concluded between Invitalia Global Investment and Iranian banks for a total amount of five billion euros and was covered by a sovereign guarantee issued by the Iranian state. The agreement, however, is still waiting for the transformation into a decree-law to become effective.
Towards the end of 2024 the relations were significantly impacted following the arrest of Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, a Swiss-Iranian businessman, arrested in Milan on 16 December 2024, at the request of the United States. In response, Iran arrested 29-year-old Italian journalist Cecilia Sala in Tehran on 19 December, allegedly for the "violation of the Islamic Republic's laws". The escalation caused the Italian Foreign Ministry to issue a verbal note to the Iranian government, demanding "total guarantees" regarding the detention conditions of Sala and her immediate release. Italian officials, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, are actively engaged in efforts to resolve the situation. Italy's Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian Ambassador to demand Sala's immediate release in January 2025. On 8 January 2025, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that Sala had been released from prison by Iran. Mohammed Abedini remains in custody in Milan.
Economic relations