UK Keen to Boost Ties with Iran

British Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed a range of issues at a meeting in Tehran on Friday evening.

The senior British official has traveled to Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

During the meeting, Mr. Burt expressed London’s willingness to promote cooperation with Tehran.

The two ministers further emphasized the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - a nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) - and discussed the latest regional developments.

Zarif and Burt also called for efforts to resolve the conflicts in Yemen and address the dire conditions of people in the war-hit Arab country.

Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been launching airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in Yemen in order to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

Thousands of Yemenis, including women and children, have lost their lives in the deadly military campaign.