US papers: US to open interest section in Iran'

J'lem officials: No knowledge of Bush's reported intention to establish diplomatic post in Teheran.

By HERB KEINON
Jerusalem has not received any word of a US intention to announce the establishment of an interest section in Teheran in mid-November, after the US election, Israeli diplomatic officials said Saturday night. The McClatchy Newspapers, citing senior Bush administration officials, reported on Thursday that the proposal for the delegation was sent to Teheran, and that the administration was searching for a diplomat to fill the post. This would be the first US diplomatic presence in Iran since the 1979-1981 hostage crisis. The Israeli officials said it was unlikely that Jerusalem could sway Washington one way or the other on this issue, and that Israel would be wise not to take a public stand, so as not to play into the hands of those who want to blame it for "scuttling" US policy. The reports come at a time when Jerusalem is preparing for the likelihood that the US would initiate higher-level contacts with Iran if Barack Obama wins the presidential election next week. While the conventional wisdom in the Foreign and Defense ministries is that it is necessary to keep up the diplomatic isolation of Iran, and that high-level diplomatic engagement with Teheran would be counterproductive, there are some voices in both ministries and in Israeli think tanks saying that engagement could encourage greater Iranian cooperation with the international community. According to this thinking, such engagement could give the Iranians a degree of American respect that they want, which might then induce Teheran to let its uranium enrichment be performed outside the Islamic Republic. The officials said that leaks now of a US intention to set up an interest section in Teheran could be meant to take one of the main thrusts out of Obama's foreign policy platform, which is that he is willing to engage with the Iranians, while the Republicans and John McCain are not. There have been persistent rumors for months that the US might open an interest section in Iran. According to the McClatchy Newspapers report, it is not known how the Iranians responded to the interest-section overture. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last month that he'd consider the idea. The Iranians refused earlier this month to allow a US nongovernmental organization, the American-Iranian Council, (AIC), to open an office in Teheran even though the US Treasury Department granted it a license to do so. On Saturday, however, the council posted on its Web site a "breaking news" flash reporting that "governmental discussions continue on the opening of the AIC Iran office." According to the organization, "plans and discussions to open the AIC office continue and are on course." The council stressed that the US interest section and the opening of its own office were two different things. According to the council's Web site, its office would be "the only US based peace and conflict resolution nongovernmental organization (NGO) operating in Iran. We look forward to helping governmental officials, NGO officials, and especially common citizens in working with us to promote respectful, rational and direct dialogue between the United States and Iran." The US and Iran have not had formal diplomatic relations since 1980.