TEHRAN -- British Charge d'Affaires and Mrs. Nicholas Browne yesterday hosted a reception to celebrate the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. The reception was held in the sprawling British Embassy compound in central Tehran and was attended by high-ranking foreign and Iranian diplomats, academics, writers and journalists. The Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi, Head of the Institute for Political and International Studies Abbas Araqchi and Head of the Foreign Ministry's Western Europe Desk Majid Qahramani were present at the reception.

Browne will soon present his credentials to President Seyed Mohammad Khatami as British Ambassador to Iran, for both Iran and Britain recently agreed to promote their diplomatic relations to the ambassadorial level.