In a message to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, President Rouhani extended his condolences to the French government and nation over death of former president Jacques Chirac.
“I would like to offer my condolences to Your Excellency and the French people and government over the demise of the former President of France Jacques Chirac, and wish you and your nation success and prosperity,” Rouhani’s official website quoted him as saying in the letter.
Chirac, who led France from 1995 to 2007, died at the age of 86. The deceased had been at the center of French politics for nearly half a century.
Chirac has been president of France twice and prime minister twice in addition to serving as mayor of Paris for 18 years.
During his 12 years as president, Chirac ended compulsory military service, stood firm against the increasingly popular far right and was the first president to acknowledge that France’s Vichy regime had assisted the Nazis in World War II.