The Guardian | Saeed Kamali Dehghan: French minister welcomes breakthrough exhibition in Iran amid tensions over nuclear deal

The Louvre has opened a show in Tehran billed as the first large-scale exhibition by a major western museum in the country, as French cultural diplomacy thrives despite tensions between Iran and Europe over the nuclear deal.

The exhibition at Iran’s national museum, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary, features 50 artworks, including a 2,400-year-old Egyptian sphinx, a bust of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, Iranian artefacts and drawings by western artists including Rembrandt and Delacroix.

Curated to showcase works tracing the creation of the Louvre, from its founding in 1793 to date, the show came a day after the French foreign minister, Yves Le Drian, arriving in Tehran both to open the exhibition and press officials over their missile programme, received a rocky welcome. One official meeting him broke with tradition, appearing in military attire, and newspaper headlines called him “a rude guest”.

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