British diplomat to visit Iran for first time in two years

Britain's newly-appointed envoy will travel to Iran on Tuesday, the first diplomatic visit by a British official since its embassy in Tehran was stormed more than two years ago. The election of a relative moderate, President Hassan Rouhani, has paved the way for a thaw in ties between the two countries. London announced the appointment of Ajay Sharma as its charge d'affaires in November. "In the first step, the British non-resident charge d'affaires will travel to Tehran on Tuesday with a delegation to visit (diplomatic) facilities in the country and have talks with officials at the Foreign Ministry," Mohammad Habibullah Zadeh, his Iranian counterpart, was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.