Zarif's Deputy: Iran-Britain Relations Will Remain at Chargé d'Affaires Level

Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Deputy for Europe and America at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, stated on Saturday, August 31, that after the reopening of the embassies of Iran and Britain, the relations between the two countries will remain at the level of chargé d'affaires. According to IRNA, the Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized in a conversation with reporters: "The plan is that after the reopening of the embassies, relations will change from the level of non-resident chargé d'affaires to resident chargé d'affaires; however, we do not have discussions about exchanging chargés d'affaires." Majid Takht-Ravanchi added that Philip Hammond, the British Foreign Minister, will arrive in Tehran tomorrow at the head of a political-economic delegation for the reopening of the British embassy, which will be inaugurated in a simple ceremony. Earlier, the Guardian reported that the residence of the British ambassador and parts of the embassy building in Tehran have been repaired, and the embassy will initially begin operations with only a few diplomatic staff. In December 2011, a group of protesters who had gathered in front of the embassy building in Tehran entered the building and took down the flag of the country. Iranian media reported that the attackers broke the windows of the embassy and "took out some documents that were on the first floor of the building" and set them on fire. At that time, Iranian news agencies, including Fars, described these protesters as "students" and "students from Tehran University." However, the attack on the British embassy occurred less than a week after the Iranian parliament voted to reduce relations with London in response to sanctions imposed on the Central Bank by the British government. The head of the National Security Commission of the parliament called for the expulsion of the British ambassador from Iran. "Damage, not compensation" Majid Takht-Ravanchi also mentioned on Saturday that the discussion is about "damage and not compensation," stating: "When the two embassies start their work, one of the topics could be the discussion of paying damages. However, we have said that we do not accept conditions for resuming relations, and they also agreed that they must present their damage estimates in detail for our experts to review." He clarified that after the embassies of the two countries begin operations, diplomatic visas and services will be issued in Tehran, and gradually, as their consular staff in Tehran becomes definitive, the issuance of regular and travel visas will also resume in Tehran. The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister also mentioned that the Iranian embassy in London has had the ability to issue visas during this period, but due to reciprocal actions, it did not issue visas, so that the non-resident chargé d'affaires of Britain traveled to Tehran from Paris instead of London. This is the first time in over a decade that a British Foreign Minister is visiting Tehran. According to the Guardian, Mr. Hammond will be accompanied by several prominent figures from the British economy and Simon Gass, the British representative in nuclear negotiations with Iran.