Iran: British embassy reopens in Tehran

After a four-year closure, the British embassy has reopened in Tehran. Philip Hammond became just the second UK Foreign Secretary to visit Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

He labelled the occasion “the logical next step” in building “confidence and trust between two great nations.”

The embassy was forced to close in November 2011 when protesters ransacked two diplomatic compounds.

British officials were withdrawn and Iranian diplomats expelled from London.

But a nuclear deal struck earlier in 2015 between Tehran and six world powers prompted a renewal of relations between the Islamic Republic and Europe.