Iranian, British Envoys Confer on Bilateral Relations
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s envoy to London and his British counterpart in Tehran met at the newly-reopened British embassy in the Iranian capital, where the two sides held talks on Iran-Britain ties.
Ajay Sharma, the British chargé d'affaires in Iran, said in his social network account on Wednesday that he held a meeting with his Iranian counterpart in Britain Mohammad Hassan Habibollahzadeh.
“(I had an) excellent Persian lunch with (my Iranian) counterpart at Number 198, Ferdowsi (Avenue, where the British embassy in located,” Sharma said in his post.
“(We) discussed UK-Iran relations: mutual respect, mutual benefit,” he added.
The British embassy in Iran reopened on August 23 after 4-year closure.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond attended a ceremony in Tehran to mark the reopening. It was the first visit by a British foreign secretary to Iran since 2003.
Simultaneously, Iran’s embassy in London also reopened.
The thaw in Iran-Britain relations follows finalization of a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14.
The two countries’ ties soured in 2011. 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.
Sharma, previously head of the British Foreign Office’s Iran department, was later appointed non-resident charge d’affaires to Iran. Tehran also appointed Habibollahzadeh as the country’s non-resident charge d’affaires to Britain.