If relations between Tehran and Washington, DC, continue to improve-President Obama has threatened to veto any attempt in Congress to scupper the nuclear deal-U.S. curators are well placed to establish closer links with their Iranian peers.
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“The United States unlikely [to open an embassy] because Iran is demonized by members of both political parties [Republicans and Democrats], so it is hard to imagine an embassy opening without a much more democratic government coming to power in Tehran”, American University History Professor Max Paul Friedman told Sputnik on Monday.
The reopening takes place in the wake of a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the reopening of the diplomatic compound showed that Iran has a “constructive role” to play in the region and around the world.
Britain must tread carefully in its newly thawed relationship Iran, but the two countries can work together to defeat Islamic State (IS) militants, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has suggested.
He is only the second British foreign minister to visit Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the US-backed Shah.
Iran expelled Britain’s ambassador in November 2011 over its support for tougher sanctions. Tehran has always denied seeking nuclear arms.
“We are clear-eyed about what the future offers us: big opportunities”.
“There are various projects in the fields of energy, roads, air fleet refurbishment, environment and mines in which Iran and Britain can participate”, Rouhani said.
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.
Britain’s embassy in Tehran – built as a symbol of imperial might when Britain was locked into the “Great Game” struggle for influence with swiftly expanding Tsarist Russian Federation – has long been the subject of intrigue.
In 2007, Iranian media even claimed to have discovered a secret tunnel running from the embassy under a carpet shop which was used to smuggle “spies and prostitutes”.
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Protesters also looted the embassy and smashed some treasures. The ensuing U.S. hostage crisis lasted 444 days and Washington and Tehran have yet to restore diplomatic ties.
