Iran, Britain Discuss Nuclear Issue, Embassy Reopening

The gathering, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, was the first bilateral meeting between the Iranian foreign minister and his British counterpart.

Britain is one of the six members of the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) with which Iran is negotiating to settle a decade-long standoff on its peaceful nuclear case.

A new round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and G 5+1 (alternatively known as the P5+1 or E3+3) has begun in New York.

Speaking after the meeting with Foreign Minister Zarif, Hammond said, “We discussed Iran’s nuclear program. I stressed that it remains in all our interests to reach an agreement which addresses international security concerns and begins to rebuild global confidence in Iran as an international partner.”

“We discussed bilateral relations and reaffirmed our commitment to reopen our embassies once the necessary practical arrangements can be made,” Hammond added.

Tehran-London relations became tense three years ago. On November 27, 2011, a large majority of Iranian lawmakers voted to downgrade diplomatic ties with Britain, following Britain's decision to impose sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran.

Later, a group of angry Iranian students stormed the British embassy in Tehran and pulled down that country’s flag.

Following the incident, Britain withdrew its diplomatic staff from the country on November 30 and asked Iran’s diplomatic delegation in London to leave within 48 hours.

Iran and Britain agreed in October last year to appoint non-resident chargé d’affaires as a first step toward reopening their respective embassies.

The development followed a September 2013 meeting between Zarif and former British Foreign Secretary William Hague in New York, during which the two top diplomats discussed ways to improve Tehran-London ties.