Tehran, Iran, December 9
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
As British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is visiting Iran the two countries can pave way for mutual gain from relations if respectful and benevolent approach is adopted as the basis, a political analyst says.
The history of Iran and UK ties has been full of ups and downs, to the closure of diplomatic missions, Kamal Sajjadi, spokesman of the Line of Imam and Leadership Front told Trend December 9.
“Britain is a country whose diplomacy is of high influence in the world,” Sajjadi noted, adding however that if Johnson would try to pressurize Iran on grounds such as human rights, hopes of successful relations will diminish.
“As for [Nazanin Zaghari], there is on one side the kindness that the Islamic system and the Judiciary could dispense regarding the case. However, there is as much sensitivity when it comes to espionage, and the Judiciary is not going to let a right be violated.”
Many Western sources say Johnson is expected to lobby the release of jailed Iranian-British Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
The visit is only the third by a British foreign minister to Iran in the last 14 years, and takes place against a complex backdrop of historical, regional and bilateral tensions.
In a meeting with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Johnson called for expanding bilateral cooperation and stressed Britain’s support for Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
However, in a meeting with Johnson later the day, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, chastised the European powers for failing to help uphold the deal, saying the United States’ approach to the deal is a “catastrophe”.