UK and Iran take steps to rebuild historic ties

The British Embassy in Tehran, set amidst rolling gentle gardens amidst rose bushes, trees and vines, is an oasis planted in the heart of a city which has seen waves of political storms and upheavals.

Yet throughout the decades of Iran’s convulsive political crises, revolutions and wars, the embassy in Tehran has been a constant fixture.

When you pass through the considerable security at the main gate on the busy Ferdowsi Avenue and step into the grounds, you feel as though you've set foot back in time.

It's little wonder it feels that way - the embassy was built in 1876, although Britain’s diplomatic presence in Iran was established in 1821, long before most modern Arab states were even founded.

Relations between the two countries, long plagued by hostility, enmity and misunderstanding, reached its low point in 2011 when hardline demonstrators stormed the embassy building and diplomatic ties were effectively frozen.

Iranian protesters storm the the British embassy in Tehran in 2011:

However the election of the reformist President Hassan Rouhani began a process of re-engagement with western countries which culminated in the historic nuclear agreement between Iran and six major world powers, including Britain.

In August this year, the Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond flew to Tehran and raised the Union Jack in the grounds of the embassy.

I spoke with the UK's acting charge d'affaires in Tehran, Ben Fender about the re-establishment of relations.

He told me that the response from the Iranian government had been positive, and that now Iran's parliament and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei had formally given their support to the recent nuclear deal, the real work of making sure it worked could begin.

He also acknowledged that while the UK and Iran both oppose Islamic State, the extremist terrorist group, they differ significantly on how it should be confronted and defeated in Syria.

He told me that at this stage of renewed relations, there were issues that Iran and the UK saw eye-to-eye and others they had differences on, but that what mattered more now was that the two countries were engaging directly.

This is especially true in the area of trade and business, with British businessmen accompanying Foreign Secretary Hammond in August, and cabinet minister Lord Maude due in Tehran with another UK business delegation at the end of this week.

It is a relationship which is in the process of being rebuilt, and most Iranians I've spoken to are keen for it to work and optimistic that it will.

What will make that a reality for them is to see international sanctions against Iran being eased, as the country shows it's sticking to the terms of the nuclear deal.

Read more from Rageh Omaar in Iran: Friday prayers offer clues to political mood in Iran