Ireland to reopen embassy in Iran by 2023

Ireland to reopen embassy in Iran by 2023
The reopening is part of the Global Ireland initiative to increase the country's global impact.
2 min read
03 March, 2021
Ireland also has plans to open an embassy in Morocco [Getty]
Ireland will reopen its embassy in Tehran by 2023 after a decade-long absence, the foreign ministry announced on Tuesday.

Dublin shuttered its diplomatic presence in Iran in 2012 as part of cost-cutting measures.

A diplomatic mission will be opened in the Iranian capital this year with an embassy to follow by 2023, the foreign ministry said.

"As part of our Global Ireland strategy, Ireland made a commitment to double our global impact by 2025," Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said.

"As an elected member of the [United Nations] Security Council, it is particularly important that we have the ability to engage in more depth on the range of Middle East issues on the Security Council's agenda," he added.

Ireland must play "constructive and impactful role on the nuclear non-proliferation agenda" as Western powers and Iran negotiate the fate of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The United States withdrew from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal under the Trump administration, imposing a raft of hard-hitting sanctions on Iran.

Tehran responded in part by withdrawing from certain commitments made under the agreement. 

Both parties have stated a commitment to rejoining the deal but obstacles still remain.

Ireland's embassy to the Vatican and its representative office in East Timor, also known as Timor Leste, were also closed in 2012 in a bid to save government funds. 

Dublin reappointed an ambassador to the Holy See in 2014 but it is unclear whether the diplomatic mission in East Timor will reopen.

Ireland has opened or announced its intention to open embassies in several countries as part of the Global Ireland initiative, which began in 2018.

The country established an embassy in Jordan in 2018 and is set to open an embassy in Morocco later this year.

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