US considers new tack on Iran
Would open a diplomatic office in Tehran
PARIS - The Bush administration is considering establishing an American diplomatic presence in Iran for the first time since relations were severed during the 444-day occupation of the US Embassy in Tehran nearly three decades ago, European and US officials said yesterday.
The idea would be to open a so-called interests section, rather than a fully staffed embassy, with US diplomats who could issue visas to Iranians seeking to visit the United States. But the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under diplomatic rules, cautioned that the idea had not been approved by the White House and could be delayed or blocked by opposition within the administration.
The proposal comes as the White House is adopting new tactics in dealing with Iran. With six months left in office, Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appear to be looking for new ways to reach out to the Iranian people as the administration tries to bring a peaceful resolution to the impasse over Iran's nuclear program.
Tomorrow, William J. Burns, the State Department's third-ranking official, will arrive in Geneva to participate, along with European Union nations, in talks with Iran aimed at persuading it to suspend uranium enrichment in exchange for economic and political incentives. The talks are a first. A department spokesman, Sean McCormack, said yesterday that an interests section would not be discussed.
One senior European official said that Burns, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, had told a number of his counterparts in Tokyo in recent weeks that Rice was committed to moving forward on the decision to put American diplomats in Tehran, but that the decision still faced opposition from conservatives opposed to any kind of closer ties with Iran.
"My feeling is that the decision was more or less taken and the administration's problem was when and how to announce it," the official said. "They want to do it, but for domestic political reasons they don't know how and when, and maybe even if, they can do it."
Another senior official from another European country who deals directly with Iran went further, saying Rice had indicated in recent private discussions that the decision was already final, and that it was only a matter of time before it was announced.
In Washington yesterday, the White House and State Department declined to comment, saying they would not discuss internal deliberations. But they did not discount reports that the idea is under consideration.
"We are always looking for ways to engage the people of Iran more, make it easier for them to get visas," said Gordon D. Johndroe, the deputy White House press secretary.
Iran, for its part, seems to have embraced the idea of a higher US diplomatic presence.
"We welcome any move which would expand human relations," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on state television earlier this week.
Bush has long said he has no complaint with the Iranian people. His issue, he has said, is with the Iranian government. Rice echoed that sentiment last week in an interview with the Persian-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She said that no final decision had been made on an interests section, but that the administration is looking for ways that Iranians can have access to the United States.
There is a small interests section in Tehran administered by the Swiss, who represent US interests in Iran. The Swiss do not have the authority to grant US visas. Last week, Burns testified before Congress and was asked about the possibility of establishing an interests section. He seemed to suggest it was under consideration.
He said the idea "is an interesting one, and it's one that's worth looking at carefully."
