UK To Reopen Iran Embassy, Says Hague
As the West looks to improve its relations with Iran, William Hague announces the UK embassy in Tehran will reopen.
新闻背景:
英国外交大臣黑格在一份写给英国议会的声明中说,英国驻伊朗使馆复馆条件已经成熟,使馆工作人员在德黑兰的安全能够得到保证,外交官的工作将不受妨碍。出于对伊拉克动荡局势的共同担忧,英国与伊朗近来保持接触。黑格在声明中说,与伊朗外交部长穆罕默德·贾瓦德·扎里夫讨论复馆事宜,双方计划采取更多措施改善双边关系。
2011年11月,数千伊朗学生和民众在德黑兰冲击英国驻伊朗大使馆,抗议英国对伊朗实施的单边制裁。随后英国宣布关闭驻伊朗使馆,撤回所有外交人员,并要求伊朗立即关闭驻英使馆,驱逐所有伊朗驻英使馆人员。
此后,英国委托瑞典驻伊朗大使馆代为处理英国在伊朗的事务,而伊朗则委托阿曼驻英国大使馆代为打理本国在英国的有关事务。去年11月,英国和伊朗恢复了外交关系,任命了一名非常驻代办,但并未重新开放驻德黑兰大使馆。
美联社称,英国重开驻伊朗使馆的“条件合适”。这代表近日来伊朗与西方关系解冻又迈出了一步。
It's two and a half years since the British embassy was stormed as the Iranian security forces stood to one side. It's a long road back. This announcement just the latest stage. The embassy building is expected to be opened later this year, but only with a scheduled affair, not an ambassador that might come
later.
We'll seek to build that up in stages as relations develop, so (there) will be a small embassy to begin with, of course there will be many difficult areas of relations remaining, including on the nuclear issue, on the regional stability, on human rights in Iran. And we will not shrink from pursuing those issues just as strongly as we always have.
The news comes a year after the election of a new president, Hassa New Harney. He'd replaced and a poisonous atmosphere with one less toxic. The British knew they needed to talk to the biggest power in the region and change the top to open the door. Envoys were named on each side, then came the talks about Iran's alleged nuclear weapon's program. An interim agreement further helped the relations. The opening of the embassy was expected this summer. The news is not because of Iraq, but it's precisely because this sort of crisis occurs that both sides are feeling their way towards full relations.
It started last September with discussions between the two foreign ministers and it has been proceeding through official level discussions ever since. But I don't think we should see this, the announcement today, as anything directly related with Iraq.
In practical terms on the ground, there's not much that British can do in the Iraq situation, but at a political level, they can now work more easily with Iran which is a key outside player.