Hammond was speaking a day after he had raised the British flag at a reopening ceremony in the garden of Britain’s opulent 19th century embassy in Tehran – a building which still bears the scars of a 2011 ransacking by protesters which put a deep freeze on diplomatic relations.
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The election in 2013 of Rouhani, a moderate, opened the way for progress on global talks about Iran’s disputed nuclear programme and an improvement in the country’s relations with the West.
Iran’s foreign minister said Monday it was “too early” to consider re-opening the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, but Washington has not indicated its willingness to restore full diplomatic ties. Now, Iran has reached a deal with six of the major world powers, which is created to curb its military ambition in terms of nuclear development, and the signing of the deal has rapidly unlocked a number of doors – not least the doors of the embassies in London and Tehran.
U.S. President Barack Obama has promised to exercise his veto if the U.S. Congress, dominated by Republicans opposed to the deal, rejects the agreement, which would start the process of lifting a raft of sanctions which have hurt Iran’s economy.
The British foreign secretary, for his part, highlighted Iran’s special position as a regional power, saying the country can play a big role in settling various problems including the ongoing fight against terrorism.
Prime Minister David Cameron called the act a “disgrace”, closed Britain’s embassy and expelled Iran’s diplomats from London. Tehran has always denied seeking nuclear arms.
European officials have been swift in heading to Iran since July 14, when the nuclear accord with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russian Federation and the United States was announced in Vienna.
Oil futures in London slid below $45/bbl on Monday for the first time since March 2009, as Iran reiterated it would expand output “at any cost” to defend its market share. “We should look to the future”, Rouhani said.
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The US hostage crisis lasted 444 days and Washington and Tehran have never resumed diplomatic relations, leaving Britain first in line for the anti-Western feelings of the hardliners who run the Islamic Republic and their supporters.
