Why America Needs an Interests Section in Iran

Morad Ghorban

US-Iran Relations, Middle East

The Obama Administration should consider at this juncture is to open an American-staffed Interests Section in Tehran.

The one-year anniversary of the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) provides us with an opportunity to debate what the final six months of the Obama Administration should bring to Iran policy. This next period is of deep import, as it will create a new baseline for the incoming President.

However, the current terms of the debate about Iran policy are too narrow to create a different baseline from the current JCPOA-centric status quo.  This current moment has been framed as a debate over how to cement the nuclear deal while ensuring that Iran’s other activities are curtailed. But this frame does not allow for the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that enabled us to reach a nuclear deal in the first place. As a result, it limits potential initiatives that, paradoxically, can actually help us to achieve our national interests. 

What the Obama Administration should consider at this juncture is to open an American-staffed Interests Section in Tehran. The issues at stake with Iran – from ensuring that our national objectives can be better realized to helping American citizens – require exploring enhanced diplomatic engagement with Tehran.  Having a limited diplomatic post in Tehran would serve such a purpose while also ensuring that the nuclear deal is rigorously implemented and an open line of communications between the two nations is maintained.

The idea of establishing an American-staffed Interests Section in Iran was first considered by the George W. Bush Administration and is backed by historic precedent of sending American diplomats to the heart of an adversary’s capital. Throughout the Cold War, the U.S. maintained a diplomatic presence in the Soviet Union. And despite severing diplomatic relations with Cuba, we maintained an American-staffed Interests Section in Havana from 1977 until the renewal of full diplomatic relations last year. This Interests Section played an important role in de-escalating tensions between Cuba and the U.S. during tense moments by providing a direct channel for dialogue.