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Iran and Britain resume diplomatic relations

Iran and Britain officially resumed on Thursday diplomatic relations severed by London after students stormed its Tehran embassy in 2011.

“From today relations between Iran and Britain are resumed at the non-resident charges d’affaires level,” Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said, adding that the countries’ flags were raised atop their embassies in Tehran and London.

The British Foreign Office confirmed the news.

Britain had ordered the closure of Iran’s embassy in London after shuttering its own in Tehran when hundreds of students stormed the compound in November 2011.

The students — protesting against Western sanctions over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme — ransacked the building as well as the ambassador’s residence in north Tehran.

Since then, the Swedish embassy in Tehran has represented Britain’s interests there, while the Omani embassy in London has done the same for Iran.

“By ending the job of countries’ interest sections, the charges d’affaires are now responsible for the bilateral relations,” said Takht-Ravanchi.