Iranian–Italian relations refers to the diplomatic relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Italian Republic. 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 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 President 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. Historical relations The relations between Iran and Italy have ancient origins. The relationship between the two countries goes back to when the Persian Empire and the Roman Empire were the two major powers in the world. The fall of the western Roman Empire and the end of the Sasanian dynasty affected their connection, however the relationship was able to resist for centuries. After the unification of Italy in 1861, they signed a friendship agreement and a commercial treaty in 1873. And even if during the Second World War, the alliance was interrupted momentarily, 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 . In 1977 the President of the Republic, Giovanni Leone made a state trip to Tehran, as the head of a high-level