Gass' trip indicates gradual thaw between Iran, Britain

The gradual process of rapprochement between Britain and Iran took a further step with the visit of the senior UK diplomat to Tehran since the two countries broke diplomatic ties in 2011, the Foreign Office said. Simon Gass, the Foreign Office's Political Director, was visiting the Iranian capital on Monday for one day for meetings with Iranian officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi, to discuss bilateral and international issues, the Wall Street Journal reported. Gass is Prime Minister David Cameron's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and the UK's lead negotiator at the Group5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) talks with Iran on its nuclear program, the Foreign Office said. He was also Britain's ambassador to Iran from 2009 to 2011. Gass' visit follows a series of trips to Tehran by Britain's non-resident envoy, which marked the first visit by a UK diplomat to Iran since the embassies were closed. Iran's nonresident envoy to Britain has also visited London for talks. On Monday, Gass held several meetings with Iranian officials in Tehran to discuss various aspects of improvement of Tehran-London ties, and explored new avenues for enhancing their common understanding of crucial regional and international developments. Gass and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for legal and international affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi, in a meeting, discussed Iran's peaceful nuclear program and the upcoming talks between Tehran and the six major world powers. In his meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister for the Arab and African affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the two sides reviewed latest developments in the Middle East region. Meanwhile, in a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi, Gass and the Iranian deputy foreign minister studied Iran-UK ties and status of the British Embassy in Tehran, to render consular services to the Iranian expatriates in the UK as well as easing red-tapes and gradual improvement of relations. The Iranian official expressed displeasure with the UK Foreign Office report on the status of human rights in Iran. Takht Ravanchi criticized the UK treasury department for updating list of sanctions against some of Iranian officials and underlined that such measures run counter to good faith and improvement of relations. The British envoy briefed the Iranian officials on the steps needed to take for reopening the UK Embassy in Tehran. In October 2013, Iran and Britain agreed to announce the names of their non-resident charges d’affaires. In a meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York City on September 23, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his British counterpart William Hague discussed improvement of Tehran-London relations, Iran’s nuclear energy program as well as regional developments. 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.