Britain says to remain committed to Iran nuclear deal

TEHRAN, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said here Saturday that his country would remain committed to Iran's 2015 international nuclear deal, semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

Johnson, who arrived in Iran's capital Tehran on Saturday for a two-day visit, made the remarks in a meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The British top diplomat called for developing comprehensive bilateral ties with the Islamic republic and urged the expansion of banking, trade and economic relations.

He also stressed cooperation between the two countries in regional and international issues.

Johnson headed a high-ranking politico-economic delegation in his trip to Tehran and is scheduled to meet with other senior Iranian officials including President Hassan Rouhani.

Johnson's trip to Iran is part of an effort to improve Tehran-London relations, Tasnim news agency reported.

Iranian-British relations soured in 2011, when Iran decided to downgrade diplomatic ties with Britain, following the latter's decision to impose sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran.

Later, angry Iranian students stormed the British embassy in Tehran and pulled down the European country's flag.

Following the incident, Britain withdrew its diplomatic staff from Tehran on Nov. 30, 2011, and asked Iran's diplomatic delegation in London to leave within 48 hours.

The two countries made diplomatic efforts afterwards to amend ties. In August 2015, the British Embassy in Iran reopened after a four-year closure.

Britain's then Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond attended a ceremony in Tehran to mark the reopening.

It was the first visit by a British foreign secretary to Iran since 2003. Simultaneously, Iran's embassy in London also reopened. Enditem