Iran And Britain To Resume Issuing Visas
KABUL: (MEP) Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has visited London on Friday and held a friendly meeting with Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on the sidelines of a donor conference on Syria in which the two sides agreed on resuming issuing visas for the two countries’ citizens.
The Iranian FM visit has been hailed as ‘first visit’ in 12 years, as a “symbol of warming relations” in spite of decades of mistrust and ongoing differences on regional issues and human rights.
According to The Guardian, the announcement came after the UK Embassy in Tehran was closed following a mass attack in November 2011, after London had extended its sanctions against Iran over nuclear weapon development concerns. In response, Iran closed its diplomatic mission in London.
“In the meeting, we agreed that the two countries start issuing visa for ordinary citizens and ordinary passports within weeks,” Javad Zarif said.
“We believe that this measure is a positive move for further exchanges between the two countries’ people and we hope that it will be conducive to a better mutual understanding,” he added.
Zarif came to London after David Cameron officially invited Tehran to the Syria conference during a recent phone conversation with the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani.
