Iran�s media charm offensive following last month�s landmark nuclear deal has crossed a new frontier with a visa for a�reporting trip�and and�high-level interviewgranted to a BBC correspondent for the first time in six years.

Kim Ghattas, the BBC�s Washington-based State Department correspondent, was allowed to spend a week in�Iran�and interviewed one of the country�s vice-presidents, Masumeh Ebtekar, despite the deep hostility of Tehran hardliners to the corporation.

Ebtekar, a reformist, said that Iran�s agreement to limit its nuclear activities in return for the end of sanctions represented a step forward. �It means a new era of working with the world in terms of different dimensions of trade, cultural exchanges,� she said. �It means that Iran is going to be a more prominent player in this part of the world.�

The BBC interview was the latest sign of a concerted effort by Tehran to ease access for international media and to improve the image of the Islamic Republic following the�Vienna deal, the result of months of intensive negotiations with the US and five other world powers.

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