Iranian Official: Still No Talk of Ambassadors in Tehran, London
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Iranian deputy foreign minister said although the British embassy in Iran is going to be reopened on Sunday, Tehran and London have no plans to appoint ambassadors yet.
There is still no talk of appointing new ambassadors in Tehran and London, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for American and European Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi said on Saturday.
His comments came a day before the official reopening of the British embassy in Iran after 4 years.
With the new development, Takht Ravanchi added, the status of non-resident charge d’affaires of the two countries will change into resident.
However, the British embassy will only issue “diplomatic and service visas” after being reopened, he noted.
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, angry Iranian students stormed the British embassy in Tehran and pulled down the European country’s flag.
Following the incident, Britain withdrew its diplomatic staff from Tehran on November 30 and asked Iran’s diplomatic delegation in London to leave within 48 hours.
The two countries made diplomatic efforts afterwards to amend ties.
Ajay Sharma, previously head of the British Foreign Office’s Iran department, was later appointed non-resident charge d’affaires to Iran. Tehran also appointed Mohammad Hassan Habibollahzadeh as the country’s non-resident charge d’affaires to Britain.
Now, after finalization of a landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond is going to visit Tehran on Sunday to reopen his country’s embassy.