Iran

Habibollahzadeh Appointed as Iran’s Non-Resident Charge D’affaires to UK

Habibollahzadeh Appointed as Iran’s Non-Resident Charge D’affaires to UK

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif appointed Mohammad Hassan Habibollahzadeh as Iran’s non-resident charge d’affaires in London.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham made the announcement, and said the decision has been made after meetings between Iranian and British foreign ministers on the sidelines of the 68th Annual UN General Assembly meeting in New York in late September and their subsequent meetings in Geneva.

“As of today (November 11) the Iranian Foreign Ministry introduces Habibollahzadeh as our country’s non-resident charge d’affaires to the British side,” Afkham said.

She reiterated that Habibollahzadeh will travel to UK in the near future to investigate the conditions of Iran’s properties and places in Britain and optimize the current activities of the consular section of the Iranian Embassy in London.

Last month, Iran and Britain agreed to announce the names of their non-resident charges d’affaires.

“By introducing the non-resident charges d’affaires, action will be taken to reopen embassies and this will be the first practical step in the reopening of embassies in London and Tehran,” Afkham told FNA in October.

Yet, she stressed that the non-resident charge d’affaires activities would mean that the two sides’ diplomats would commute between the two countries and would not reside in the place of their mission.
In a meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York City on September 23, Zarif and his British counterpart William Hague discussed improvement of Tehran-London relations, Iran’s nuclear energy program as well as regional developments.

Afkham said in view of the Iranian parliament’s approval of a bill to downgrade Iran-UK ties, Tehran and London agreed to maintain ties only at the level of non-resident chargés d’affaires.

On November 27, 2011, Iranian lawmakers voted by a large majority to downgrade diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom, in response to Britain’s decision to impose sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran over the allegation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Two days after the decision by the Iranian parliament, hundreds of Iranian students staged a protest outside the British Embassy in Tehran and pulled down the UK flag.

On November 30, 2011, London cut off its ties with Tehran, withdrew its diplomatic staff from Iran and the Iranian Embassy in London was closed.

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