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Hammond's comments on Israel strike nerve in Iran

The British foreign secretary visited Tehran for the reopening of the United Kingdom's embassy after four years, but his comments about Israel and Iran drew sharp criticism from Iranian officials.
Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond (L) and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif arrive for presser, after a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran August 23, 2015. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMAATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THI
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The reopening of the British Embassy in Tehran can be counted as one of President Hassan Rouhani’s midterm accomplishments and the fulfillment of a campaign promise to improve relations with the world. The embassy was closed under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2011 after hard-line university students stormed the embassy in protest against the sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond attended the ceremony Aug. 23 in Tehran to mark the reopening. He is the first British foreign secretary to visit Iran since 2003. Hammond met with Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

At a joint news conference, Hammond called the closing of the embassy a "low point” in UK-Iran relations but said after Rouhani’s elections, relations “steadily improved, step by step." His comment that “Iran is, and will remain, an important country in a strategically important but volatile region” was welcomed by Iranian analysts.

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