Embassy reopening, UK choice: senior Iran MP

A senior Iranian MP says Britain could reopen its embassy in Tehran to improve bilateral ties, but a parliamentary ratification restricting UK representation in Iran to charge d™affaires remains in place.

Britain closed its embassy in Tehran and asked Iran™s diplomatic staff to leave London within 48 hours on November 30, 2011.

The move came three days after a large majority of Iranian MPs voted to downgrade diplomatic ties with Britain in response to its sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran, over Iran™s nuclear energy program.

Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Mjlis (Iranian parliament) Alaeddin Boroujerdi said the MPs only decided to œdowngrade” ties with Britain from having an ambassador to the level of a charge d™affaires stressing they had œno decision at all” to end Iran-Britain ties.

œ[The closure of the embassy] was a decision the British made,” he said. œHence a decision for normalization of the British [government™s] relations with our country should be made in London … if they ever feel their decision on Iran has been wrong, they should correct it.”

œTherefore, the Islamic Republic of Iran sees no restriction for resumption of ties [and] reopening of the British embassy. We [only] emphasize on the requirement that we approved in the Majlis,” he added.

Boroujerdi™s comments come after London™s recent diplomatic gestures toward better ties with Tehran, including remarks by British Foreign Secretary William Hague after meeting his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York earlier this week.

œThe United Kingdom does not seek a confrontational relationship with Iran and is open to better relations,” Hague said.

AMR/HE