
While no date has been set, the visit is likely to take place towards the end of the month, spokesperson Ciro Benedettini told journalists.
Pope to host Iran President Rouhani at Vatican
Rouhani, a self-declared moderate who was elected in 2013, had been scheduled to visit the Vatican in November as part of a tour which would have taken him to Italy and France. But the trip was cancelled following the Paris attacks.
The previous official visit by an Iranian president to the Vatican was in 1999 when Mohammad Khatami met John Paul II, followed by another visit in 2005 when he attended the Polish pope's funeral.
Iran's Rouhani says expects sanctions to be lifted by end-2015
While it is forbidden to convert to Christianity in Iran, the country's small minority of Eastern Catholics enjoy greater religious freedom than in many Sunni Gulf states.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ