British embassy reopens in Iran

Almost four years after protesters stormed the UK Embassy in Iran, triggering a drastic breakdown in relations, Britain is restoring its diplomatic presence in Tehran.

In a signal of the most striking thaw in Western ties with Iran for over a decade, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond watched the British flag being raised in the garden of the 19th century building while the national anthem played.

The British embassy was closed in 2011 after it was stormed by protesters during a demonstration against sanctions against Iran.

European officials have been quick to visit Tehran since July 14, when Iran struck a deal with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russian Federation and the United States, ending a 13-year standoff over its nuclear programme.

Four-year-old graffiti reading “Death to England” is seen above a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II at the British embassy in Tehran as it reopened on August 23, 2015, for the first time since November 2011 riots.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi told state television Saturday that the Iranian Embassy in London will reopen at the same time.

Britain downgraded ties with Iran to the “lowest level consistent with the maintenance of diplomatic relations”.

Hammond is the first UK foreign secretary to visit Iran since 2003.

The protests, which the UK government says it believes were backed by the Iranian government, came after the UK announced a series of sanctions on Iran connected to its nuclear program.

Initially, the embassy, which Britain acquired in 1869 for £8,000, will be headed by a charge d’affaires, Ajay Sharma, but Mr Hammond said an agreement on upgrading to full ambassador status is expected to be reached in the coming months.

Hammond and treasury minister Damian Hinds are visiting Tehran with a small trade delegation for the two-day visit starting Sunday.

But Mr Hammond cautioned that the warming of relations would take place “within the confines that will always be imposed by the fact that we have fundamentally different views on some issues”. A mirror remains smashed in the room where the leaders of Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States discussed their strategy for winning World War Two.

The Foreign Secretary is visiting Iran on Sunday and Monday.

Officials of public and private companies are accompanying the minister to Iran, once the sixth largest market in terms of orders won by South Korean builders before Seoul joined worldwide sanctions on Tehran, the statement added. Iran is prepared to engage with all our neighbours.

The U.S. embassy was sacked in the early days of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 by students who feared a repeat of a 1953 coup, when the Central Intelligence Agency orchestrated the overthrow of Iran’s prime minister.

The two countries must tackle common challenges together, he said, including terrorism, regional stability, the spread of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the illegal drug trade and migration.