UK reopens embassy in Tehran

TEHRAN, Iran

The British embassy to Iran has been reopened in the Iranian capital of Tehran, the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement on Sunday.

British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond was present at the reopening ceremony.

“Four years on from an attack on the British embassy, I am today reopening it. The Iranians will simultaneously reopen their embassy in London. Our relationship has improved since 2011. President Rouhani’s election and last month’s nuclear agreement were important milestones. I believe that we have the potential to go much further," Hammond said.

He said that the reopening of the embassies was a key step to improving bilateral relations.

“This move does not mean that we agree on everything. But it is right that Britain and Iran should have a presence in each other’s countries. The role of embassies is to build cooperation where we agree and to reduce our differences where we don’t," he said.

"Initially, the embassy will be led by a charge d'affaires with a small staff offering a limited range of consular services. Over the months ahead we expect to agree with the Iranians an upgrading of our respective mission leaders to full ambassador status and to be able to offer a full range of services," he added.

The British embassy will be headed by Charge d’affaires Ajay Sharma.  Moments before the reopening ceremony on Sunday, Hammond tweeted: "Arrived in #Tehran. First British Ministerial visit since 2003. Historic moment in UK-Iran relations".

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif also said on Sunday that the whole world now recognized that Iran was playing a constructive role in the region, according to the Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

"The reopening of the British embassy and presence of Europeans in Iran are signs of that [Iran's constructive role]," he added.

Zarif also recalled that Iran had not closed down the British embassy, but it was the U.K. government which decided on its own to take such a step.

The U.K. embassy in Tehran was shut down in 2011 when a group of protesters raided and looted the building and ambassador’s residence during a rally against nuclear program related sanctions on Iran.

Since then diplomatic relations between the U.K. and Iran have been tense and remained at the level of non-resident charge d’affaires.

Hammond is the first foreign secretary to visit Iran after former secretary Jack Straw’s 2003 visit.

Hammond and his delegation are expected to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s national security council during the visit.

The decision of mutually reopening diplomatic missions from the two countries came following the recently reached deal between Iran and the world powers’ group on Iran’s nuclear program, which had led to UN sanctions.

On July 14, the world powers P5+1 group -- the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany -- reached a final nuclear agreement with Iran, which agreed to curb its nuclear research program and to open its nuclear and military facilities for inspections.