Tehran, Sept 26, IRNA -- An English-language daily on Thursday focused on top British diplomat Jack Straw's upcoming visit to Iran and believed that the British have decided to follow other Europeans in upgrading political and economic ties with Iran, after a lull of nine months resulting from Iran's rejection of the last Foreign Office appointee to represent London in Tehran.

"In order for the two nations to establish a stable and mutually beneficial relationship, continual high-level exchanges of diplomats and businessmen seem essential," said the daily `Tehran Times' under its Editorial column.

Reports on Wednesday quoted Baroness Symons, Britain's Minister of State for Trade and Investment, who is also deputy leader of the House of Lords, as saying that top British diplomat Jack Straw will visit Tehran soon, it noted.

She also said that Iran occupies an important and strategic place in the Middle East and one of the aims of British diplomacy is to strengthen ties with the Islamic Republic, it added.

Her comments, combined with the recent decision by the British Foreign Office to appoint Charles Dalton as Britain's new ambassador to Tehran, signal the will to begin a new era in relations between the two countries, noted the paper.

Analysts here believe that after some hard thinking and consultations, the British came to the conclusion that Iran's refusal to accept London's choice for ambassador fell within Iran's rights and international diplomatic norms, it said.

It believed that they also seem to have accepted Iran's assurances that the move was not to snub the Foreign Office or adversely affect British diplomacy or prestige.

Notwithstanding diplomatic rows, the British are not newcomers to this region to be oblivious of the pivotal role of Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East, pointed out the daily.

Also, it said, trade figures point to a decline in trade between the two nations in the last nine months, and that it is an added incentive for the British not to miss economic opportunities which can be exploited to the benefit of both countries.

In spite of all political and diplomatic complications, the two countries have managed to cooperate in fighting drug trafficking for instance.

The daily further noted that Iran expects Britain to join it in meticulous planning and closer cooperation aimed at resisting the immense threat this menace presents to all humanity.

There is also widespread belief here that the EU member countries, and the British specially, are not serious or sincere about fighting illicit drugs that are shipped to Europe through Iran, and have not contributed much in terms of technology, equipment or money in the common war on illicit drugs, the column stressed.

Valorous Iranian soldiers and policemen on the front lines of this thankless war are left alone, lacking essential technology and equipment to better control the seemingly endless caravans of death crossing Iran's eastern borders every night, it continued.

The paper believed that another obstacle hindering better ties between Iran and Britain is the historically negative view Iranians hold of British foreign policy in the Middle East which is compounded by vested interests and lobbies in Britain trying to block any British-Iranian rapprochement.

Tehran Times said that some analysts believe that if the British conduct themselves according to international law - unlike numerous times in the near and distant past - and avoid temptations to meddle in the internal affairs of Iran, then chances for mature and mutually beneficial ties seem more favorable than at any time in the recent past.

Daily: New British envoy to Tehran to end row between two states

Bilateral Tehran-London ties have not always been tension free or on the best of terms in post-revolutionary Iran, the English- Language daily 'Iran News' added.

Many analysts believed that after Mohammad Khatami's ascendancy to Iran's presidency back in 1997 and the subsequent selection of a close Khatami adviser as ambassador to London, a new chapter in bilateral Iran-UK relations would begin, it said adding that Morteza Sarmadi who was previously deputy foreign minister for 10 years was designated as ambassador to the 'Court of Saint James' in 2000.

The editorial further stressed that with the appointment of Richard Dalton as the new British Ambassador to Tehran, it proves that the roots of ties between the two countries is inherently strong and that the Reddaway episode did not inflict permanent damage on British-Iran relations.

The article referred to London-Washington intimate relations as a point of deep concern for Tehran saying, "the English who consider themselves as the eternal ally of America, take policy decisions that are at times even radically different from the rest of the European Union."

If the UK acts more in concert with the other Europeans and in the framework of the EU, Tehran would feel much more at ease to expand its cooperation and ties with Great Britain, it commented.

It concluded by saying that even though the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw came to Tehran twice during the Afghanistan crisis, but the truth is that as long as the UK is so closely associated with the US in its international strategy, Iran and Britain will be unable to take the next step in bilateral ties.

... Payvand News - 9/26/02 ... --