Britain and Iran have taken a significant step toward reopening their respective embassies in Tehran and London by appointing chargés d'affaires and holding talks on terms and conditions about staff on the eve of new negotiations on the vexed issue of Iran's nuclear programme.
William Hague, the UK foreign secretary, revealed to MPs on Tuesday that talks with the Iranian govenement [sic] had taken place last week in a much more positive atmosphere following intensifying diplomatic contacts in the wake of the election of the moderate President Hassan Rouhani in June.
Progress would have to take place on a "step-by-step reciprocal basis", Hague said, but he made clear the moves would pave the way to reopen the British embassy. "We are open to more direct contact," he said, adding that the the [sic] coming months "may be unusually significant" in British-Iranian relations. » | Ian Black, Middle East editor | Tuesday, October 08, 2013
