Foreign Secretary William Hague has said the British embassy in Iran will re-open for the first time in three years.
The embassy, based in the capital city of Tehran, was closed after hundreds of protesters stormed the building in 2011. Diplomats working at the Iranian embassy in London were subsequently expelled.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"In a written statement, Mr Hague said the UK embassy will re-open 'as soon as practical arrangements are made' as a sign of 'increasing confidence' in the state of relations between the two countries," the BBC reported.
The election of a new Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, and an interim deal over Iran's nuclear programme has since warmed diplomatic relations. In October, both countries appointed a non-resident "charge d’affaires" to work towards reopening the embassies.
Now the two countries have been pushed together by the crisis in Iraq, says the Financial Times. Contact between the West and Iran has gathered pace through their shared interest in confronting militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis), with Hague reportedly speaking to Iran's foreign minister over the weekend.
Jack Straw, former Labour foreign secretary, told the FT: "The crisis in Iraq underlines the need for us to build up relations with the government of Iran as quickly as possible. They were a reliable ally with respect to Afghanistan and it happens that their interest in promoting a stable Iraq coincides with ours."
Around 400 British nationals or citizens with links to the UK are believed to be fighting in Syria and Hague believes some are "inevitably" fighting in Iraq.
No 10 Downing Street officials have confirmed that Britain has offered "counter-terrorism advice" to Baghdad and would offer assistance if the US decided to take any action in Iraq. However, they have ruled out sending military support to the Iraqi regime.
-
6 homes with incredible balconiesFeature Featuring a graceful terrace above the trees in Utah and a posh wraparound in New York City
-
Did Alex Pretti’s killing open a GOP rift on guns?Talking Points Second Amendment groups push back on the White House narrative
-
The 8 best hospital dramas of all timethe week recommends From wartime period pieces to of-the-moment procedurals, audiences never tire of watching doctors and nurses do their lifesaving thing
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Iran unleashes carnage on its own peopleFeature Demonstrations began in late December as an economic protest
-
How oil tankers have been weaponisedThe Explainer The seizure of a Russian tanker in the Atlantic last week has drawn attention to the country’s clandestine shipping network
-
Iran in flames: will the regime be toppled?
In Depth The moral case for removing the ayatollahs is clear, but what a post-regime Iran would look like is anything but
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Trump, Iran trade threats as protest deaths riseSpeed Read The death toll in Iran has surpassed 500
