Iran’s Envoy to UK Rejects Rumors of Joint Chamber of Commerce’s Closure

Iranian Ambassador to the UK Hamid Baeidinejad blasted BBC Persian service for fake news about the closure of the Iran-UK Joint Chamber of Commerce, reassuring that the entity is still alive and active.

All staff members of the Iran-UK Joint Chamber of Commerce led by Lord Norman Lamont are doing their job offering services online, Baeidinejad said in a tweet early on Sunday.

The diplomats post on his Twitter page came after the Persian service of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), a notorious anti-Iran media, released a piece of news that the joint chamber was closed.

Iran-UK Chamber of Commerce is an administrative complex for delivery of consultative services to its members namely British companies which are willing to maintain trade ties with Iran, Hamid Baeidinejad said.

He added that the body is in close relationship with its counterpart in Iran to facilitate commercial ties between the two countries.

Iran-UK chamber had rented an office in London for years and had two or three staffers.

Last year, due to the end of the contract, the chamber had to rent a new office, but an increase in the amount of rent imposed a heavy budget on the body, he noted.

He reiterated that the officials of the Chamber decided to change the body into a digital service one to decrease expenses.

The developments just aimed at taking advantage of modern technology and not reducing chambers' activities or its closure, he noted.

“The board of directors, as well as the chairman of the chamber, Lord Lamont, all remain in their positions, and the chamber will continue its usual activities without any changes,” he added.

Last month, Baeidinejad warned against the plots hatched by the Western countries and the Persian-language media backed by them to create differences between the people and government of Iran.

"Persian-language media relying on financial support from the US and the UK are seeking to create rift among the Iranian nation and government officials," Baeidinejad wrote on his Twitter page.

The Iranian ambassador criticized the Persian-language media operating abroad, including BBC Persian, Manoto and VOA Persian for their biased coverage of recent floods in Iran so as to show "incompetence of the Iranian government to handle the disaster".