Britain to Reopen Embassy in Iran After Four Years

The Foreign Office confirmed in a brief statement that Philip Hammond will be visiting Tehran “over the coming days”. 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.

In November 2011, hundreds of Islamist demonstrators protesting against Western sanctions stormed and ransacked the British embassy in Tehran. But the United States, which led the nuclear talks with Iran, has no diplomatic relations with Iran since 1979 following the 444-day hostage crisis that followed the storming of its Tehran embassy.

Philip Hammond will become the first foreign secretary to visit the city in 14 years, according to The Guardian.

The reopening of the embassy has been plagued by technical obstacles for more than a year since it was first proposed publicly by Mr Hammond’s predecessor William Hague. The protesters climbed the walls of the embassy, looted property and burned flags.

After the closure of the British embassy in Tehran and the Iranian embassy in London in 2011, diplomatic relations were left at “the lowest possible level”, BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus said. Ties have slowly been warming but it is clearly the successful conclusion of the nuclear accord with Iran that has paved the way for the embassy reopening.

However, ties have warmed since the nuclear deal was sealed and at the end of July Britain lifted an official warning against all but essential travel to Iran, citing “decreased hostility”. However, Iranian law forbids acceptance of Iranians deported from foreign governments against their will.

Under the deal made in Vienna, Iran will destroy 98% of its stockpile of weapons grade uranium in exchange for a relaxation of billions of dollars of sanctions that have shut Iran off from the world.