Reuters
Tehran, August 23: Britain reopened its embassy in Tehran on Sunday, a striking signal of how Western ties with Iran have thawed since protesters stormed the compound nearly four years ago. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond watched the British flag being raised in the garden of the opulent 19th century building while the national anthem played. In 2011, the attackers burned the Union Jack and ransacked the ambassador’s residence. Iran’s embassy in London also reopened Sunday.
“Today’s ceremony marks the end of one phase in the relationship between our two countries and the start of a new one – one that I believe offers the promise of better,” he said. The storming was a low point in diplomacy between the two countries, he said, but the relationship had improved “step by step” since the election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in 2013. Hammond said the nuclear deal that the Islamic Republic struck with six major world powers last month was also an important milestone.
