Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has voiced optimism that the nuclear deal between Iran and six major world powers will take effect.

He made the statement in a meeting with the head of Iran-Britain Parliamentary Friendship Group, Abbas Ali Mansouri Arani, in Tehran on January 7.

Straw further said that Iran has an inalienable right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Iran and six world powers- Russia, China, France, Britain and the US - plus Germany sealed an interim nuclear agreement in Geneva on November 24, 2013.

Under the Geneva deal, the six world powers agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against the Islamic Republic in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period.

Straw, whose visit to Tehran was seen as softening of the severed ties between Iran and Great Britain, further noted that despite the ups and downs in Iran-Britain ties, both sides seek the improvement of relations in line with mutual interests.

He said the Iran-Britain Parliamentary Friendship Group has always called for the expansion of bilateral relations and opposed extremist views on the enhancement of Tehran ties with the West.

Mansouri Arani, for his part, said dual approaches taken by the U.S. and the West to issues including Iran's nuclear energy program have played a significant role in undermining the Iranian nation's confidence in mutual ties.

He said Iran has always carried out its nuclear activities based on the Non-Proliferation Treaty regulations and like other signatories to the treaty, Tehran calls for its absolute and legal rights.

Straw, heading a parliamentary delegation, arrived in Iran on January 7 to discuss issues of mutual interest with senior Iranian officials.

Straw had once visited Iran as the British Foreign Secretary in 2003 when Hassan Rouhani was head of the then Iran's 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 chargé 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 chargé 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.