GovWire

Mr Nicholas Hopton has been appointed the British Charg dAffaires to the Islamic Republic of Iran, in succession to Mr Ajay Sharma, who has transferred to his new role as Her Majestys Ambassador to Qatar.

Mr Hopton moves to Tehran from Doha where he was Her Majestys Ambassador to Qatar from 2013 to 2015. Mr Hopton joined the FCO in 1989 and has previously served as Ambassador to Yemen. He has worked on national security issues in the Cabinet Office, led the International Organisations Department in the FCO and has European policy experience from postings in Paris and Rome and time as Private Secretary to the Minister for Europe.

On his appointment as the British Charg dAffaires to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr Hopton said:

Im delighted to be posted to Tehran as Charg daffaires. I hope that it will be possible soon for both the UK and Iran to be represented by full Ambassadors in which case I will be glad to serve in that capacity. This is an important moment for relations between the UK and Iran, which we hope will continue to develop positively following the re-opening of Embassies. I look forward to contributing to that in the new spirit of cooperation between the two countries.

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