Although it’s forever surprising to Americans to hear this, when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on Pope Francis Tuesday, he did so as head of a state that has enjoyed diplomatic relations with the Vatican for much longer than the United States, and arguably representing a strategic partnership that’s almost as important as Washington.
Iran and the Holy See established full diplomatic ties in 1954, 30 years before the United States did so in 1984 under Ronald Reagan, and the bond has remained uninterrupted ever since, even during the Iranian Revolution and the US hostage crisis.
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