Britain should act to improve bilateral relations: Iran

Tehran has urged London to take measures for restoring their bilateral relations, saying that it was Britain that unilaterally severed its ties with the Islamic republic, Xinhua reported Monday.

"Taking the initiative to restore ties with London requires a revision of UK's approaches and behaviour towards Iran," said Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Abbas Araqchi.

The statement came following a recent phone conversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi and British Foreign Secretary William Hague in which the latter expressed Britain's willingness to work with Iran to improve diplomatic relations.

In November 2011, thousands of furious Iranian demonstrators had broken into two British embassy's compounds following Iran's decision to downgrade its diplomatic ties with Britain in response to the financial sanctions imposed against Tehran.

In protest, Britain withdrew its diplomats from Iran, shut down its embassy in Tehran, ordered immediate closure of the Iranian embassy in London, and demanded that all Iranian staff should leave Britain.