Rouhani says Cameron wants to reopen Iran embassy

Iranian president tweets that British PM seeks expansion of ties

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed an interest in reopening his country’s embassy in Tehran during a telephone conversation between the two leaders Thursday.

“In phone call just now, #British PM @David_Cameron welcomed #IranDeal & Iran’s constructive role in the negotiations,” Rouhani said on Twitter, referring to the talks that led to a historic agreement Tuesday on Iran’s nuclear program.

He added that Cameron had “expressed interest in reopening embassies & expansion of ties in the framework of mutual interest & respect + combating #terrorism in region.”

Britain is one of the six world powers — along with China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — that struck the agreement with Iran after a 13-year standoff over its nuclear program.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stands next to a portrait of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as he leaves at the end of a press conference in Tehran on June 13, 2015. (AFP Photo/Behrouz Mehri)

Plans to reopen Britain’s embassy in Tehran, which was stormed by protesters in 2011, were announced last year but progress has been slow.

The British government said the pair discussed how the “deal would pave the way for stronger relations, and about what that would mean in terms of bilateral relations and our aim to reopen the embassy”.

A spokesman said that during their 20-minute phone call, the British premier “welcomed the historic (nuclear) deal and underlined their respective commitments to delivering on it.”