British Airways has confirmed it will resume direct flights to Tehran.

The first flight will take off from London today, after the flag-carrier initially suspended the route four years ago.

British Airways the decision to suspend the route was initially taken when it became commercially unviable, largely because political relations had broken down.

It follows the lifting of some sanctions against Iran in January this year and the re-opening of the British embassy in the Iranian capital in 2015.

The carrier said it will run flights six days a week from London Heathrow, using a Boeing 777.

British Airways ended its three-times-a-week service in October 2012, a year after the British embassy was closed in the Iranian capital.

The carrier offed its first scheduled flights between London and Tehran in 1946.