Iran, Britain appoint new ambassadors
Baku, September 6, AZERTAC
Iran and Britain have appointed new ambassadors for the first time since 2011 as both countries look to improve their relations, according to Iran Daily.
Both officials presented their credentials to the countries' foreign ministers on Monday, an Iranian Foreign Ministry official said.
Tehran appointed Hamid Baeidinejad as the country's new envoy to Britain while London chose Nicholas Hopton, a former British ambassador to Qatar and Yemen, as its envoy in Iran.
Britain shut down its embassy in Tehran in November 2011 and withdrew its diplomatic staff after hundreds of Iranian students staged a protest outside the British Embassy in Tehran against the expansion of UK sanctions on Iran, pulling down the UK flag and demanding the expulsion of the British ambassador.
In late November 2011, Iran's Parliament approved a bill to downgrade the diplomatic ties between Tehran and London to the level of chargé d'affaires, and limit all economic and cultural collaborations to the minimum level.
Nearly two years after their diplomatic ties were severed, Iran and Britain agreed in October 2013 to appoint non-resident chargés d'affaires as a first step toward reestablishment of their ties.
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