BBC:

There is an old joke in diplomatic circles that Iran is the only country in the world that still thinks the United Kingdom is a great power.

Instead of viewing the UK as a middling-sized European country, senior Iranian figures have seen a post-imperial nation still bent on meddling in the Middle East, exerting its exaggerated influence across the region.

This is in part a reflection of Iran's lingering resentment of Britain's role in helping to depose an elected prime minister here in the 1950s. It also reflects the UK's close relationship with the United States, a country with which Iran seems to be in a permanent state of confrontation.

So when Jeremy Hunt arrived in Tehran this week for his first visit as foreign secretary, he was not ignored. He had a long meeting and lunch with his counterpart, the veteran foreign minister Javad Zarif.

He was also granted a rare meeting with the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, a powerful figure in Iran's military. Iranian media packed in to film him, and his visit made the local papers. (I am sorry to report that this does not happen everywhere a British foreign secretary goes these days.)

This attention on Mr Hunt, though, was not just because of Iran's historic perspective of the UK. It was also because right now Iran needs the UK's help.

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