Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is to visit the Vatican for the first time in late January, and while there is to meet Pope Francis.
Vatican Government Spokesperson Ciro Benedettini was quoted as making the announcement on Tuesday by the semi-official Iranian Fars News Agency.
"No exact date has been set, but President Rouhani's visit will take place towards the end of January," said Benedettini.
Rouhani had been set to visit France and Italy in November, in a trip that was cancelled in the wake of Islamic State's (ISIS) lethal attacks in Paris that left 130 murdered.
Groundwork for the meeting began as early as March, when Iranian Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Ali Jannati and his Vatican counterpart Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi met in Vatican City and called to expand ties and mutual cooperation, according to Fars.
Rouhani, while often touted as a "moderate," has been revealed to be escalating Iran's human rights abuses as seen in the ever increasing jailing of political prisoners and executions, and just last month called Israel "illegitimate" while pressing for a state of "Palestine" to replace it.
Pope Francis for his part has shown his willingness to consort with repressive regimes, such as his visit to Cuba in September that was accompanied by the violent repression of dissidents of the Communist state.
He has also voiced his support of the controversial nuclear deal with Iran, which is the leading state sponsor of terror in the world.