Iranians celebrated the long-awaited reopening of their�London�embassy on Sunday with Qur�anic verses, soft drinks, expressions of florid goodwill and relentless hopes for a better future for the often stormy relationship between the Islamic Republic and the UK.

Taking its cue from the parallel ceremony in Tehran, the event at the Iranian ambassador�s residence in Kensington was long on formal expressions of mutual respect and short on matters of substance or contention.

Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi, one of Iran�s deputy foreign ministers, set the tone with a call for relations based on mutual respect and good faith. He also called for a new era of cooperation following last month�s landmark nuclear deal and the steadily improving atmosphere between the two governments since a 2011 attack on the British embassy.

Guests were offered bottled water and French macaroons in the grand first-floor drawing room of the residence, a few doors down the white stucco terrace from the embassy itself, scene of the SAS�s famous hostage rescue in 1980.

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