LONDON: British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Tuesday that “circumstances are right” to reopen Britain’s embassy in Iran, which was closed in 2011 after hard-liners overran the building and ransacked it.

The announcement, which had been in the works for months as part of a slow rapprochement between the two wary countries, comes during a pronounced thaw between Iran and the West in recent days. American officials are also looking for common ground with Iran as they seek ways to quell violence in Iraq.

Hague told Parliament in a written statement he is satisfied British embassy personnel would be safe in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and that diplomats would be allowed to work without hindrance.

He said “a range of practical issues” have to be resolved before the embassy can begin operations again and full consular services would not be offered at first.
“It is our intention to re-open the embassy in Tehran with a small initial presence as soon as these practical arrangements have been made,” he said.

SOURCE: AP ARABNEWS.COM

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