British Envoy: Iran Election, New Chance To Improve Intˈl Ties

New York, June 22, IRNA - Britainˈs Permanent Representative to the United Nations Lyall Grant has referred to Iranˈs June 14th presidential election as a new chance for Tehran to improve its ties with the West and international community. In a recent exclusive interview with IRNA, Grant expressed hope that Tehran and London would use the new chance to remove the existing disputes over major issues including Iranˈs nuclear program and Syrian crisis. The British diplomat said West is waiting to see what stand Tehran would take regarding those issues. As for Iran-Britain relations after the victory of Hassan Rohani in recent presidential election, he said London has welcomed Rohaniˈs victory hoping that the remaining disputes with Tehran would be settled during his tenure. He further referred to Iran as a major country in the region. Asked if London was ready to partially or completely lift the present sanctions against Tehran regarding Iranˈs new political developments, Grant said that would be possible only when Tehran convinces international community of the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. Such a claim is made while Iran has repeatedly proved the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities to the world by allowing inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency to launch numerous investigations into its nuclear facilities. Tehran-London diplomatic ties have been severed in recent years after the British government imposed political and economic pressures on Tehran including ceasing business relations and transactions with the Central Bank of Iran. Tehran downgraded its relations with London on November 28, 2011 due to new sanctions put in place by the UK. As for the future of Iran-Britain relations, the British diplomat told IRNA that although Britain has no embassy in Tehran presently, diplomatic relations are underway between the two capitals. He hoped bilateral ties would be improved between the two nations in future./end