Tehran, Iran, Aug. 21
By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
An Iranian lawmaker said the country should take necessary measures to prevent UK interference in the country's domestic affairs after the UK embassy in Tehran is reopened.
The remarks followed reports saying Britain's Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, will formally reopen the UK embassy in Tehran on Sunday, nearly four years after it was shut down in a political dispute.
What is important in reopening the embassy is to take preventive measures to make sure the UK does not carry out actions similar to what it did during the 2009 sedition, Iranian MP Mansour Haqiqatpour, who is also member of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told Trend August 21.
Iran accuses the UK of having tried to agitate opposition during the unrest that followed the 2009 presidential elections.
Iran and Britain severed their diplomatic ties in November 2011. The British embassy was closed after hundreds of Iranian university students staged a protest, pulling down the UK flag and demanding the expulsion of the British ambassador.
Following the incident, Britain announced not only the withdrawal of its diplomatic staff from Tehran but also the closure of the Iranian embassy in London.
"We have authorized the Foreign Ministry to rebuild relations with the UK whenever it sees fit," Haqiqatpour said, adding that Iran is after all in favor of conducting relations with the UK.
The MP went on to say that before the embassy closed, relations between Iran and the UK had narrowed severely due to the unconventional approach by the UK.
In 2013, Iran and the UK assigned non-resident charges d'affaires to conduct necessary diplomatic measures before the embassies open.
Edited by CN