The British defense secretary expressed satisfaction with the framework agreement reached between Iran and the major powers over Tehran's nuclear program and voiced hope it would lead to an improvement in London-Tehran relations.
"From our point of view, Iran is a hugely important player in the region. We would like to have normal relations with Iran again," Michael Fallon told BBC Radio 4's The World At One on Friday, IRNA reported.
Fallon said he hoped that the agreement will enable the reopening of the British Embassy in Tehran, which has been closed since 2011.
"We would like to reopen our embassy. We have no quarrel with the Iranian people."
"A deal like this does help to improve confidence and trust on all sides."
Iran and the major powers announced on Thursday that they reached a landmark understanding on the outline of a final nuclear deal aiming to resolve the 12-year dispute over Tehran's nuclear work.
The announcement by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif came after eight days of marathon talks between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) in the Swiss city of Lausanne to work out the basic framework of a final nuclear accord, whose details are to be finalized by the June 30 deadline.
Britain cut its ties with Tehran in 2011 and withdrew its diplomatic staff from Iran and ordered the staff of the Iranian Embassy in London to leave. The move came after an angry group stormed the British Embassy to protest London's policy on Iran.
Nearly two years later in October 2013 and following the election of President Hassan Rouhani, the two sides agreed to appoint non-resident chargés d’affaires as a first step toward normalizing ties.
