The deputy foreign minister for administrative and executive affairs said maintaining bilateral relations through active diplomatic missions is important both for Iran and Britain, especially with regard to the high number of Iranian residents in Britain and the historical relations between the two countries.
Mehdi Danesh Yazdi made the remarks on the sidelines of the reopening ceremony of the Iranian Embassy in London on Saturday, reciprocated by the reopening of the British Embassy in Tehran attended by Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.
"The diplomatic missions serve as mechanisms to develop relations," IRNA quoted the senior diplomat as saying.
Danesh Yazdi noted that the reopening of the embassies can help enhance political, economic and cultural ties.
Emphasizing the significance of cultural activities of Iranian missions abroad, he said the Foreign Ministry has assigned itself the task of introducing the "rich" Iranian civilization to the world.
He called for efforts to promote the Persian language across the UK and properly introduce the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the Shia sect of Islam to the British people.
On the scope of the activities of the two missions, he said, "As far as I know, no complete agreement has been reached yet between Iran and the UK on the provision of consular services."
The diplomat noted that the British Embassy will issue visas for officials, expressing hope that the process of issuing visas for other purposes would also resume following the planned negotiations between the two sides. The Iranian Embassy will not issue visas for the time being either, noted the official.
Tehran-London relations became tense in 2011 when the British Embassy was attacked by a group of angry protestors, following London's decision to impose sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran over Tehran's nuclear program. After the attack the UK closed its mission and ordered the staff of the Iranian mission to leave London.
The full resumption of diplomatic ties came weeks after the landmark nuclear deal was reached between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany).
