Dublin Plan to Reopen Embassy in Tehran

Governments of Iran and Ireland are set to strengthen diplomatic relations by paving the way for the reopening of the Irish Embassy in Tehran by 2023, the European nation’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said on Monday. 
“We’ve held high-level talks over the past 12 months. We want to reopen our embassy by next year,” Coveney was quoted as saying by IRNA. 
Ireland closed its embassies in Iran, Vatican and East Timor to save costs back in 2012. In August 2021, it reopened a diplomatic mission in Tehran within the German Embassy. 
Coveney arrived in Tehran on Monday and had back-to-back meetings with his counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday afternoon. 
During the meeting, Raisi stressed on the promotion of bilateral ties with “independent” countries such as Ireland. 
“Tehran is determined to develop closer ties with friendly and independent nations,” the top official noted, pointing to Ireland’s approach in international settings. 
He added, “We welcome Ireland’s independence from the United States and some European nations.”
Raisi said he saw relations between Tehran and Dublin as “brotherly” and “constructive”, stating that the relationship had more room to grow. 
“Tehran-Dublin have great potential to strengthen and expand ties in various sectors like economy and commerce,” the president said, “Making use of this potential benefits expansion and development in both countries.”
The officials agreed that energy, science, technology, industry and agriculture are areas on which the countries could focus. 
“Trading volume between the two nations could be much higher than current levels,” Raisi said. 
The president maintained that his administration’s top priority is to preserve public interests and mutual respect. 
“We are emphasizing the real removal of sanctions and respect for the rights of Iranians in the ongoing [Vienna] negotiations,” the top official added. 
Iran and world powers are trying to restore the 2015 nuclear deal that the US unilaterally withdrew from in 2018. 
Coveney also pointed to the promising prospects of bilateral ties and said Dublin greatly values its relations with Tehran.
“We believe we are at a strategic juncture in our ties with Iran. We want to expand and boost relations,” the foreign minister said. 
“In line with this, we’re determined to reopen our embassy in Tehran,” he added. 
The accredited ambassador of the Republic of Ireland Sonya McGuinness presented her credentials to President Raisi before his meeting with Coveney.