UK hopes to re-open embassy in Iran before yearend

PanARMENIAN.Net - Britain hopes to re-open its embassy in Iran before the end of the year, foreign minister Philip Hammond said on Wednesday, July 15, following an agreement between Iran and six major world powers over Tehran's nuclear program, Reuters reports.

"I very much hope that we will be in a position to re-open our respective embassies before the end of the year," Hammond said in parliament. The re-opening was dependent on resolving some technical issues, he added, without elaborating.

Britain said in June last year that it intended to reopen its embassy in Tehran "within months".

Diplomatic relations were suspended and the embassy was closed after hundreds of Iranian demonstrators stormed the building in November 2011.

Hammond said Tuesday's deal should reassure the rest of the world that all routes for Iran to develop a nuclear bomb have been closed off, and that the deal could have wider positive consequences.