Tehran, Iran, Sept. 5
By Mehdi Sepahvand – Trend:
The United Kingdom and the Islamic Republic of Iran have restored their diplomatic relations to the highest level for the first time since 2011.
Tehran presented Hamid Baidinejad as ambassador to London, while the UK had Nicholas Hopton present his credentials to Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Mehr news agency reported Sept. 5.
The UK reopened its embassy in Tehran in August 2015 following almost four years of closure as it was stormed by protesters during a demonstration against sanctions in 2011.
Since then, the UK embassy in Tehran was headed by charge d’affaires.
Iran-UK ties steadily improved after President Hassan Rouhani took office in August 2013.
Hopton acted as the UK’s charge d’affaires to Iran since Dec. 31, 2015. He was ambassador to Qatar from 2013 to 2015.
Baidinejad acted as director general for political and international affairs at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs before heading to London as ambassador.