TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian and British diplomats on Wednesday agreed to improve their bilateral relations in a step-by-step procedure.
The agreement was reached between Iran’s Non-Resident Charge d’Affaires Mohammad Hassan Habibollahzadeh and his British counterpart Ajay Sharma in the Iranian capital today.
Habibollahzadeh will head a delegation to London in the near future to continue the talks with the British officials.
Sharma expressed pleasure in his talks with Habibollahzadeh and other officials in Tehran. “I had a good first visit back to Tehran today (Tuesday) and want to thank the Iranian authorities, particularly my counterpart Habibollahzadeh, for facilitating the trip,” Sharma said in a statement issued by the UK Foreign Office.
“I held detailed and constructive discussions with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about taking forward our bilateral relationship on a step-by-step and reciprocal basis,” he added.
In October, Iran and Britain agreed to announce the names of their non-resident charges d’affaires.
In a meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York City on September 23, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his British counterpart William Hague discussed improvement of Tehran-London relations, Iran’s nuclear energy program as well as regional developments.
On November 27, 2011, Iranian lawmakers voted by a large majority to downgrade diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom, in response to Britain’s decision to impose sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran over the allegation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Two days after the decision by the Iranian parliament, hundreds of Iranian students staged a protest outside the British Embassy in Tehran and pulled down the UK flag.
On November 30, 2011, London cut off its ties with Tehran, withdrew its diplomatic staff from Iran and the Iranian Embassy in London was closed.