Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Former British foreign minister, Jack Straw, heading a parliamentary delegation, arrived in Iran today to discuss issues of mutual interest with senior Iranian officials, Iranian media reported.

The four-member group attended the Iranian parliament's morning session. They are scheduled to meet with members of Iran-UK Parliamentary Friendship Group during the three-day visit.

Iranian parliamentary official Mahdi Kiayi said Straw is to have a press conference in Tehran on January 8.

Kiayi said the British parliamentary delegation, alongside meeting with its Iranian counterpart, will meet with other political and parliamentary officials, but is not scheduled to meet the heads of government branches.

Abbasali Mansouri Araani, the Iranian head of Iran-UK parliamentary friendship group said promotion of Tehran-London relations in various fields, particularly in economic and political activities, is a major objective of the British delegation's visit to Tehran.

The British parliamentary delegation is due to return to Britain on January 10.

Straw had once visited Iran as the British Foreign Secretary in 2003 when Hassan Rouhani was head of the then Irans nuclear negotiating team with the West.

Britain closed its embassy in Tehran in 2011 after a rally against British new imposed sanctions on Iran escalated into violence and Iranian protesters scaled the walls, ransacked offices and burned buildings.

Recently, Iran and Great Britain have taken several measures to restore the severed relations.

Iran and Britain agreed in October last year to appoint non-resident chargés d'affaires as a first step toward reopening their respective embassies and improving the bilateral relationship

The development followed a September meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and British Foreign Secretary William Hague in New York, during which they discussed ways to improve Tehran-London ties based on mutual respect.

In December in 2013, Britain's new non-resident Charge d'affaires to Iran, Ajay Sharma visited Tehran to hold consultations with Iranian officials and reopen Britain's mission in Iran.

Sharma was the first British diplomat to travel to Iran since ties between Tehran and London were severed in 2011.