UK is Set to Re-open Iran Embassy

Local Editor

BBC reported Tuesday that the British Foreign Secretary William Hague will announce a plan, which will lead to the re-opening of the British embassy in Iran's capital, Tehran.

Full diplomatic relations with Iran were suspended in 2011.

According to the channel, "The election of a new Iranian president and agreement on how to deal with Iran's nuclear program has warmed diplomatic relations."

"The shared interest in confronting militants led by the so-called "Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant" has accelerated contacts between the West and Iran," it added.

BBC editor Nick Robinson said William Hague spoke to Iran's foreign minister over the weekend.

Robinson said he understood that the statement would not lead to the instant re-opening of the embassy and that it would be conditional on diplomatic progress being maintained.

He said the election of Hassan Rouhani as president last year had been an important step towards improving relations between Iran and the West.

Events in Iraq had given this gradual process of detente a "mighty great shove", he added.

Sir William Patey, a former British ambassador to Iran, said it was potentially a "very significant moment" for dealings between the two countries.

He told BBC Radio's 4 Today program that there had been an improvement in diplomatic relations over recent months.

The appointment of a UK-based British charge d'affaires to Tehran last year was seen as a sign of a thaw in relations and paving the way for the possible re-opening of the embassy.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team