Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani arrived home today to shouts of ‘death to America’ from hardline protesters.
While hundreds of Iranians gathered at the airport to cheer his return to the country after a week of UN talks, around 100 others gathered outside to throw eggs and shoes at his car.
The hardline activists also waved a banner and some threw stones, according to Iran’s news agency.
They appeared to be protesting against Rouhani softening relations with the West, and particularly a 15 minute phone call he shared with Barack Obama yesterday.
They spoke through an interpreter in the first direct contact between a U.S. and Iranian President in more than 30 years.
Rouhani has said he wants to end the stand-off between Iran and America over his country’s nuclear programme, which Ian claims is for peaceful purposes but the West has long suspected will be used to make atomic bombs.
Addressing a UN summit on the issue, Rouhani said he would like the dispute to be resolved in ‘months rather than years’ and called for Israel to sign up to a treaty on nuclear weapons.
In return Rouhani has said that he expects all sanctions on his country to be lifted, which have cut oil exports in half, devalued the Iranian currency and crippled the economy.
