The British Embassy in Tehran, closed after Iranian protesters stormed it during a demonstration protesting the imposed British sanctions in 2011, will reopen again for the first time in four years. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond will visit Iran at the weekend with a delegation of business leaders. The visit comes just weeks after Iran reached a deal with six world powers aimed at curbing its nuclear program
Several European officials have travelled to Tehran since July 14, when Iran struck the nuclear agreement with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, according to Yahoo! News.
Hammond will be accompanied on his visit by British business leaders as well as the Foreign Office political director, Sir Simon Gass, who represented Britain in the marathon talks leading up to the July nuclear agreement, according to The Guardian.
After the closure of the British embassy in Tehran and the Iranian embassy in London in 2011, diplomatic relations were left at an all-time low, says BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus, according to BBC News.
When the embassy re-opens on Sunday, there will be a new British ambassador has been chosen but not yet announced. The UK ambassador's residence and some of the embassy buildings in Tehran have already been restored. Gholhak Garden is the British diplomatic compound in the northern Tehran neighborhood of Gholhak in Iran, about 3 miles from the center of Tehran.
In order to authorize the renewed issue of visas to Iranian applicants in Tehran, the UK Home Office insisted that a bilateral agreement was signed allowing for the repatriation of Iranian nationals in Britain who had overstayed their visas. However, Iranian law forbids acceptance of Iranians deported from foreign governments against their will.
The conclusion of the joint comprehensive plan of action, in which Iran accepted limits on its nuclear program while the UK and five other major powers agreed to lift sanctions, boosted London's determination to overcome the remaining obstacles, paving the way for Hammond's visit.
