The British Embassy was re-opened today in Iran. The ceremony was attended by UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who is now on a two-day visit to the Republic.
"As for the resumption of work of the embassy, this is an important step toward further improving bilateral relations," Hammond said.
The minister admitted that Britain and Iran ‘’do not always agree" with each other, and therefore once again stated the importance of the opening of diplomatic missions, which will help the two countries "to discuss difficult issues" in the future.
He also assured that the United Kingdom seeks to ensure that the agreement reached between Iran and the ‘Six’ international negotiators, would likely increase the momentum of trade turnover between the two countries, and the volume of investment in the economy.
At the same time, a similar event took place in London, where the Iranian embassy was re-opened.
It is not currently known who the British ambassador to Tehran will be. The first UK diplomatic mission, which will be formed by a small number of staff, will be headed by a charge d'affaires.
According to the Guardian newspaper, the residence of the ambassador and the buildings of the British embassy have been restored recently, but the embassy’s technical re-equipment is not yet complete.
The work of the embassy in Tehran was stopped in 2011, when its complex of buildings was attacked by demonstrators protesting against the imposition of sanctions against Iran. Shortly thereafter, the Republic closed its representative office in London.
