Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways (BA), has suggested that the airline would like to reinstate direct flights to Tehran, the Iranian capital.

"We are very interested in flying to Tehran and we are hopeful that it will form part of BA's network in the very near future," Walsh said at a Global Airfinance conference in Dublin last week. "We are actively looking at it as a destination," he added, according to a report in Business Travel News.

A BA spokeswoman said that the airline reviews its route network regularly, “to ensure that we operate to destinations with a strong demand from our customers.”

If the flights are introduced, it is thought that other Heathrow slots will be dropped to make way for the service, which was stopped in 2012.

While it was not long ago that it was on the travel advisory list , Iran has been experiencing a tourism boom following the lifting of sanctions imposed on the country by the West. The country was named among Telegraph Travel’s 20 destinations to visit in 2014 and UK tour operators reported a surge in interest during the second half of last year.

“There are two distinct Irans to discover,” wrote Benedict Brogan after a visit in 2014. “There is an ancient, sumptuous civilisation that boasts some of the greatest treasures of ancient and Islamic architecture and art: the dramatic ruins of Persepolis, the ethereal beauty of Isfahan, the imperial palaces of Tehran.

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“The other is the modern Iran we hear much about, but do not really know. A country of mullahs and morality police where courting couples now openly hold hands, young women display their skinny jeans, make up and nose-jobs (it is a world centre of cosmetic surgery), parking fines are paid electronically, and commuters on the Tehran underground are reminded that it is impolite to walk up the escalators.”

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Tour operator Wild Frontiers has had the country on its books for years but said current demand was “insatiable”.

Tour operator Wild Frontiers said current demand was "insatiable"

“Bookings for Iran have increased dramatically over the past 18 months,” Jonny Bealby, the company’s founder, told Telegraph Travel, “initially due to the thawing in relations between Iran and the West and more dramatically since the British FO lifted its advice against travel and reopened their embassy in Tehran.

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“To cater for the insatiable demand we have put on an additional six group departures and are already selling tours for 2017.”