Embassy of Iran, London facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Embassy of Iran in London
Location	South Kensington, London
Address	16 Prince's Gate, London, SW7 1PT
Ambassador	Hamid Baeidinejad

The Embassy of Iran in London is like Iran's main office in the United Kingdom. It's a special place where officials from Iran work to keep good connections with the UK government. This embassy is located in a beautiful old building in South Kensington, London, right next to Hyde Park. It's also near the embassy of Ethiopia. Iran has another office nearby, called a Consular Section, which helps Iranian citizens in the UK. The embassy building is very old and important, listed as a Grade II building.

A Difficult Time for the Embassy

In 1980, something very serious happened at the embassy. A group of people took over the building and held many people inside. This event is known as the Iranian Embassy siege. After several days, a special team from the British army, called the SAS, went into the building to rescue everyone. The embassy building was badly damaged during this event. Because of the damage, the embassy had to close for many years and did not open again until 1993.

Reopening and New Beginnings

Later, in 2011, there was another difficult time for the embassy. After an event at the British Embassy in Iran, the UK government asked all Iranian embassy staff to leave. This meant the embassy in London had to close again. For a few years, another country, Oman, helped look after Iran's interests in the UK.

However, things got better between Iran and the UK. In 2014, the two countries decided to improve their diplomatic relations and reopen the embassy. On February 20, 2014, the embassy was officially restored and started working again. This showed that Iran and the UK wanted to have a friendly relationship once more.

Images for kids

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  A plaque outside the embassy in 2013

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  The embassy building in 2008

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  The embassy after the 1980 siege