Britain will formally reopen its embassy in Tehran over the weekend in the presence of the UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, while the Iranian embassy in the British capital will be reopened in a simultaneous ceremony, the Guardian reported on Thursday.
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“We can confirm that the Foreign Secretary will be visiting Tehran over the coming days”, a FCO spokeswoman told Anadolu Agency. Reports of plans to reopen the embassy have repeatedly arisen over the years, as the countries have seen shared regional interests over several key political issues.
The official said Hammond, who helped negotiate Iran’s historic nuclear deal with world powers in July, “will travel Sunday to Iran for the reopening of the British embassy”.
The source added that the British embassy would resume its work in Tehran. The protestors climbed the walls of the embassy, burned the British flag and looted property from the living quarters. On November 27 that year, a large number of Iranian lawmakers voted to downgrade diplomatic ties with Britain, following London’s decision to impose sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran.
Some will be lifted in return for assurances that Iran’s nuclear programme is not aimed at producing a weapon under the deal struck by the UK and five other nations in July.
Re-opening the embassy could unsettle British allies such as Saudi Arabia and Israel which have poor relations with Iran.
The group will be led by Ajay Sharma, who has been non-resident charge d’affaires since 2013.
The ties between the two countries have improved since the nuclear deal was made.
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There had been regular protests outside the British embassy over the years since the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the U.S.-backed shah, but none were as violent as the 2011 storming.
