Indian-origin diplomat Ajay Sharma will lead the British embassy in Teheran when it is reopened on Sunday, four years after it was stormed and ransacked in November 2011 by activists angry over Britain imposing sanctions on Iran.
Sharma, who was posted in Teheran in 2008 as the deputy head of mission, was appointed the non-resident charge d’affaires for Iran in 2013. He led talks to reopen the embassy and re-establish relations between the two countries that had dried up after the embassy was stormed.
Sharma will initially lead the embassy after it is reopened, but an ambassador is expected to be appointed shortly, official sources indicated.
Britain’s foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, will formally reopen the embassy in Teheran on Sunday. The Iranian embassy in London will be reopened at the same time, as part of warming of relations between the west and Iran following the recent agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme.