Iran Refuses to Admit U.S. Consular Officers
Iran has rejected a U.S. request to allow American consular officials to visit Iran periodically to promote people-to-people exchanges, the State Department said Tuesday.
Spokesman James P. Rubin said it is “high time” for Iran to allow such visits, given that Iranian officials are routinely permitted to come to the United States to visit private American citizens.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, disclosed in a speech made public Tuesday the U.S. interest in sending officials to Iran but said the underlying motive was “to open an office for intelligence and political activities and forge ties with [the United States’] mercenaries.”
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were broken after Islamic militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held American diplomats hostage for 444 days. The Swiss Embassy has been handling U.S. interests there, and Rubin said Washington is not seeking a change in that situation.
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