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US may open diplomatic outpost in Iran

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-24 09:31

The Bush administration is considering setting up a diplomatic outpost in Iran in what would mark a dramatic official US return to the country nearly 30 years after the American embassy was ousted and the two nations severed relations.

Even as it threatens Tehran with sanctions and possible military action over its nuclear program, the Bush administration is floating the idea of opening a US interests section in Iran similar to the one the State Department runs in Havana, diplomatic and political officials said Monday.

Like the one in Cuba, an interest section, or de facto embassy, in the Iranian capital would give the United States a presence on the ground, one official said.

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It would process visa applications and serve as a center for American cultural outreach to locals, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Now, the US has no diplomatic presence in Iran and relies on the Swiss Embassy in Tehran to serve as its "protecting power." The Swiss now pass messages to the Iranian foreign ministry on Washington's behalf and handle the affairs US citizens in the country.

The United States now has a small office in the Gulf state of Dubai that handles routine visa matters for Iranians but officials say it is not easily accessible and unable to do the work that an interests section could do.

The interests section concept is an old idea now being revisited by a very small group of diplomats and political officials at the State Department, with the blessing of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Rice declined to confirm or deny the idea, which was first reported in a Washington Post opinion column on Monday.