Iran says no to diplomatic relations with the US

Sunday, 31 July 2016

Iran says no to diplomatic relations with the US

Posted on July 29, 2016 |

Bahram Qassemi, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson recently told Kyodo News Agencysenior journalist Hiroki Sugita that there is no possibility of Iran re-opening its embassy in Washington in the near future.

“Naturally, there may have been some mutual dialogues on regional issues, but negotiations have been solely on the nuclear issue,” he said.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, on several occasions questioned the re-establishment of Iran-US diplomatic relations based on America’s continuous hostility to Iranian nation.

The “friendly” relations between the US, Israel, and Iran under King Reza Shah ended in November 1979, when the Islamic revolutionaries closed-down Israeli embassy in Tehran and hundreds of Iranian students descended on American embassy, considered a ‘den of spies’ for the last 30 years, and held 52 embassy staff inside the building for the next 444 days. Later the students released six of the Afro-American staffers.

In response, the US administration closed down Iranian embassy and consulate offices in the country and expelled all Iranian diplomatic staff. Since then, Swiss embassy looks after American interests, and Pakistan embassy does the same for the Iranian interests in the US and the Islamic Republic.

Last year, Alan Eyr, US State Department’s first Persian-language spokesperson speaking at the National Iranian American Council’s leadership conference in Washington, DC expressed his personal hope for the resumption of full diplomatic relations between the US and the Islamic Republic of Iran, but conceded that this is unlikely to happen in the near future (here).

While rapprochement appears unlikely, Eyre reminded his audience that circumstances can quickly change in Iran (a western sponsored bloody regime change), and that predicting the future of the country is a fool’s errand. When asked where the US-Iran relationship will be in 10 years, he replied, “I have no earthly idea.”

The NIAC was founded by Dr. Trita Parsi, a non-Muslim and anti-Islamic Revolution. He believes that despite Benjamin Netanyahu and ADL’s Jonathan Greenblatt opposition to the US-Iran agreement, old love between the US, Israel and Iran could be rekindled.

Last year, Washington decided to re-open its embassy in Havana after 50-year sanctions against Cuba. Since then, Washington has only three countries with no diplomatic relations; Iran, N. Korea, and Nepal.