Iran may have referred to the USA as "the Great Satan" but there is just as much (if not more) bad blood between Tehran and Britain.
Foreign Secretary William Hague's announcement that the UK is to reopen its embassy in the capital, after two and a half years with no British diplomatic presence, follows a gradual thawing of relations between the Islamic Republic and the West.
But the warming of ties comes after decades of frosty relations between the two countries. Just two years ago, Britain openly suggested military action against Iran over a shipping lane.
The start of the bad relationship was more than six decades ago...
British-Iranian Relations
The 1953 coup(01 of06)
In August 1953, the CIA and MI6 help engineer a coup against Iran's democratically-elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddeq.The Americans were talked into backing the coup by the British - whose interests were threatened when Mosaddeq nationalised the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company - now called BP.The coup left Iran under the absolutist rule of the Shah, perceived to be a puppet of Western interests. Britain has never confirmed details of its involvement - though former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has referred to British "interferences" in Iranian affairs.
1973 - Oil, again(02 of06)
Iran, the world's second-largest exporters of oil, are among the Organisation of Petrol Exporting Countires (OPEC, pictured) nations to announce an oil embargo, throwing many western economies, but particularly Britain, into crisis, as the price of oil surges.BP is one of the seven Western oil companies whose influence OPEC was set up to limit.The embargo is partly in response to Western support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War against Egypt and Syria. British bases were used to supply Israel with arms during the conflict.
The 1979 Revolution(03 of06)
Twenty-six years after Britain played a key role in giving the Shah absolute power, things do not end well for the Iranian king and he is overthrown in a popular uprising, ushering in the Islamic Republic of Iran.Britain responds by closing its embassy in the country. Though it eventually re-opens in 1988, relations between the two countries remain frosty.
1980 to 1988 - The Iran Iraq War(04 of06)
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein (pictured) attacked Iran in 1980, leading to a war that lasted eight years and killed hundreds of thousands of people. Along with other Western countries, Britain backs Saddam. While officially neutral and observing an embargo on arms sales to either country, Britain covertly sold the Iraqis military equipment, as revealed by Cabinet papers published 30 years later. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
2007 - Royal Navy sailors taken prisoner(05 of06)
In the nadir of recent Iranian-UK relations, Iran seized 15 Royal Navy personnel, claiming they had strayed into their waters while searching a merchant ship.After just under two weeks in captivity, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced they would be released and returned to Britain.On returning to Britain, the personnel claim the Iranians aggressively pointed machine guns at them, blindfolded them and held them in tiny cells.Iran responded: "Theatrical propaganda cannot conceal the mistake made by British military on violation of Iran's territorial waters and their repeated illegal entry into the country."
The ransacking of Britain's Tehran embassy(06 of06)
Britain suspends diplomatic ties with Iran after protestors storm its embassy in Tehran and ransack it.The student protestors brought down the Union Jack flag and threw documents out of the window two days after Iran's parliament approved a bill that reduced diplomatic relations with Britain, following London's support of recently upgraded Western sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.
Today's embassy announcement is an obvious response to the rampant Sunni ISIS Insurgency sweeping Iraq, but would not have been possible without a series of landmark events paving the way for Iran and the UK to resume ties.
How Iran And The West Made Up
Ahmadinejad out, Rouhani in(01 of06)
The thaw in relations owes a lot to this guy - president Hassan Rouhani, who was elected in June 2013.In the 19 months between the British embassy closing and Rouhani's election, relations between Britain and Iran failed to improve - Britain even sending a warship to the Gulf over fears Iran may block the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.But Rouhani's election marks a sea change. He is seen as more moderate than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and is elected promising to improve relations with the West.His election prompts Britain to say it is interested in improving relations "step by step".
Rouhani addresses the UN(02 of06)
Rouhani visits New York City in September 2013, three months after his election. It is seen as a major break with his predecessor's line on "The Great Satan" and signals a desire to improve US/Iran relations.He addresses the UN, saying "peace is within reach" and offers negotiations to allay "reasonable concerns" the West has over his country's nuclear programme.In the same month, foreign secretary William Hague meets with his Iranian counterpart. Hague said he welcomed Iran's offers to slow down its uranium enrichment programme.
Obama and Rouhani's historic phone call(03 of06)
September 28 2013 - A 15-minute phone call between Obama and Rouhani is hailed as a historic moment that ends the 34-year diplomatic freeze between the two countries.It is the first conversation between an American and Iranian leader since 1979.Rouhani tweeted about the conversation, saying Obama ended it by saying "goodbye" in Farsi.
After historic phone conversation with @BarackObama, President #Rouhani in plane abt to depart for Tehran. #UNGA pic.twitter.com/TFtLWxbbaV
— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) September 27, 2013Diplomats exchanged(04 of06)
In the same month, foreign secretary William Hague meets with his Iranian counterpart. Hague said he welcomed Iran's offers to slow down its uranium enrichment programme.In October, Hague and Mohammad Javad Zarif (pictured right) announced that the countries will exchange diplomats with a view to re-opening permanent embassies in each country.
Cameron calls Rouhani(05 of06)
November 2013 - After Obama becomes the first American president to call the Iranian leader in 34 years, David Cameron calls him too, becoming the first prime minister to do so in more than a decade."The two leaders discussed the bilateral relationship between Britain and Iran welcoming the steps taken since President Rouhani took office," a Downing Street spokesman says."They agreed to continue efforts to improve the relationship on a step by step and reciprocal basis."Cameron also implores Rouhani to be "more transparent" with Iran's nuclear programme, Downing Street says.
About that embassy...(06 of06)
Suddenly, being friends became a lot more urgent when ISIS took Mosul, Iraq's second city, and began tearing through the country executing opponents and imposing strict Islamic law on the population.The Sunni militants' rise has been blamed on the pro-Shia stance of Iraq's Malaki government.Under Saddam, the country's Sunni minority dominated political life and fought an eight-year with Iran, which is a Shia majority country and does not like the idea of a terrorist army on its doorstep.