At a meeting with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani at the Vatican last week Pope Francis said he had “high hopes for peace”. While Francis usually asks those he meets for their prayers, the Shia cleric pre-empted the Pope’s request and said: “I ask you to pray for me.” The pair talked privately for 40 minutes with the aid of translators. The president had a separate meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State. The recent international agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear programme was discussed as well as “the important role Iran is called on to play with other nations in the region in promoting adequate political solutions to the problems that afflict the Middle East, opposing the spread of terrorism and arms trafficking”, the Vatican said in a written communiqué. When the Pope convened a Middle East summit at the Vatican in 2014, he said that arms trafficking was the root of many problems in the region. During the meeting the two men also underlined “the importance of inter-religious dialogue and the responsibility of religious communities in promoting reconciliation, tolerance and peace”, the Vatican said. “During the cordial conversations, common spiritual values were highlighted” and “the good state of relations between the Holy See and the Islamic Republic of Iran” was recognised, the Vatican said. Mention was made of how the Church in Iran and the Holy See seek to promote “the dignity of the human person and religious freedom”, the statement added. The Pope gave Mr Rouhani a large medallion of St Martin of Tours giving his cloak to a poor man.