The UK embassy in Iran will be reopened Sunday four years after it was shut down due to violent protests, amid a thaw in relations between London and Tehran.



MOSCOW (Sputnik) � UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond will be flying to�Tehran to�open the embassy, becoming the first top British diplomat to�visit the Islamic Republic since�2003.

"Four years on�from an attack on�the British Embassy, I am today reopening it. The Iranians will simultaneously reopen their embassy in�London. Our relationship has improved since�2011," Hammond said as�quoted by�the Belfast Telegraph, stating that the election of�Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the conclusion of�the nuclear agreement last month were important milestones.


The reestablishment of�the embassies does not mean that the two sides agree on�everything, according to�Hammond.
"But it is right that Britain and Iran should have a presence in�each other's countries. The role of�embassies is to�build co-operation where we agree and to�reduce our differences where we don't."


At first, the embassies will be led by�a charge d'affaires, with�small numbers of�employees providing limited range of�consular services.

The UK embassy was closed following�a mob attack in�November 2011, after�London broadened its sanctions against�Iran over�nuclear weapon development concerns.

The thaw in�the relationship between�the two countries comes after�Iran and the six world powers�� the United Kingdom among�them�� reached an agreement in�July obliging Tehran to�guarantee the peaceful nature of�its nuclear activities in�exchange for�an easing of�sanctions against�the country.


By Sputnik