Iran, UK negotiate to resume bilateral consular ties: official

 　　TEHRAN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular¹, Parliamentary and Expatriates' Affairs Hassan Qashqavi said here Sunday that Tehran and London are negotiating to resume bilateral² consular ties, semi-official Fars news agency reported.

　　"We are interacting and talking with Britain to resume consular activities," Qashqavi told Fars.

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

　　Following the incursion into its embassy in Tehran, Britain withdrew its diplomats³ from Iran, shut down its embassy in Tehran, ordered the immediate⁴ closure of the Iranian embassy in London and demanded that all its staff leave Britain.

　　In June 2012, Press TV reported that Iran and Britain had agreed to open interests sections after the two countries shut down their respective embassies.

　　Oman would be in charge of the Iranian interests section in London while Sweden would represent the British interests in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi was quoted by Press TV as saying.

1 consular   

a.领事的

参考例句：

• He has rounded out twenty years in the consular service. 他在领事馆工作已整整20年了。
• Consular invoices are declarations made at the consulate of the importing country. 领事发票是进口国领事馆签发的一种申报书。

2 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

3 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。