Diplomat says Iran has not paid compensation for British embassy attack

TEHRAN,June 25(MNA)– An Iranian Foreign Ministry official said Iran has not yet paid compensation for the 2011 attack on the British embassy in Tehran. “We have not held discussions with the other side yet and no payment has been made,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Majid Takht-Ravanchi said in an interview with the Nasimonline news agency published on Tuesday. On the relationship between Iran and Britain, Takht-Ravanchi said that Tehran and London have had a “bitter history” of relations and Iranian officials have repeatedly talked with British officials about various issues, including Britain’s interventionist policies toward Iran. Elsewhere in his remarks, he said that the Islamic Republic is committed to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, adding that as a party to the convention, Iran is obligated to protect the premises of diplomatic missions in the country. Britain ordered the closure of the Iranian Embassy in London after closing its embassy in Tehran following the storming of the compound by angry students in November 2011. The students were protesting against the Western sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program and Britain’s hostile policies toward Iran. According to Reuters, British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced on June 17 that Britain planned to reopen its embassy in Iran, saying it would soon establish a small initial presence in Tehran two and a half years after the closure of the British embassy. “I have ... now decided the circumstances are right to reopen our embassy in Tehran,” Hague said in a written statement to parliament. Diplomatic ties between the two countries were revived in November last year when Britain appointed a non-resident charge d'affaires to Tehran after Iran and the major powers reached an interim deal over Iran’s nuclear program. Takht-Ravanchi had previously said that Iran is prepared to discuss financial compensation for the attack on the British embassy as part of an overall agreement to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries.