UK says Iran sanctions could be lifted next spring

Iran’s embassy in London also reopened on Sunday.

On Sunday, August 23, 2015, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has opened the British embassy in Tehran almost four years since protesters ransacked the elegant ambassadorial residence and burned the Union Jack.

Hammond said that it was important that the two countries maintained dialogue even under the most hard conditions.

Last month Iran struck a deal after a decade of negotiations with world powers over its nuclear programme, with some sanctions being lifted in return for allowing inspections.

For now, there won’t be a British ambassador in Tehran to follow Chilcott, though.

“When sanctions are removed we will look to examine possible options to work in Iran”, Edward Daniels, Shell’s executive vice-president for commercial and new business development said.

In his speech, Hammond stressed the importance of Iran’s role within the wider Middle East.

Following the 2011 embassy attack, Britain said it could not have happened without the tacit consent of the Iranian regime at the time.

He says the re-opening of the embassy in Tehran is one of a number of steps the UK goverment will be taking to try to regain trust with Iran.

Hammond’s visit is the first by a British foreign secretary since 2003.

“Given concerns over efforts by the enemy to penetrate into Iran after the nuclear deal, it was not appropriate that the British Embassy in Tehran is reopened, ” the hard-line daily Kayhan quoted him as saying.

He said London and Tehran should also be ready to discuss challenges including terrorism, regional stability, and the spread of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Britain’s foreign minister warned against leaving Iran in isolation Monday just as the two countries made symbolic moves to smooth over diplomatic relations. Britain is ready to upgrade its diplomatic relations with Iran to the ambassador level from the current charge d’affaires status, he added.

He said Britain and Iran had a “difficult history”, but relations had been steadily getting better and reopening diplomacy was a “sensible way forward”. Iran’s embassy in London is also reopening.

U.S. President Barack Obama has promised to exercise his veto if the U.S. Congress, dominated by Republicans opposed to the deal, rejects the agreement, which would start the process of lifting a raft of sanctions which have hurt Iran’s economy.

Representatives from Shell joined British officials in Tehran to renew economic ties between the two states, meeting with Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh and Central Bank Governor Valiollah Seif.