US ‘Still Looking’ at Establishing an Interests Section in Iran

By Patrick Goodenough

(CNSNews.com) – The United States has not shelved a proposal to establish an interests section in Iran, although there are no public signs that the Iranian government is ready to embrace the idea.

An interests section facilitates relations between people of two countries that do not have diplomatic relations, typically dealing with legal issues such as birth and death registrations, and cultural and educational affairs.

Another, unrelated non-governmental initiative aimed at improving ties between the U.S. and Iran also has drawn skeptical responses in Iran.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at the weekend that the Bush administration continues to consider the idea of an interests section.

“I think it’s an interesting idea,” she told reporters en route to Astana, Kazakhstan. “But, you know, we are going to take a look at it in the light of what it could do for our relationship with the Iranian people.”

Asked whether the step remained a possibility before the end of the Bush administration in January, Rice said, “We are still looking at the idea.” ....

A State Department spokesman referred queries about the AIC license to OFAC, saying only “our policy has not changed. We encourage efforts to increase people-to-people contacts between the people of Iran and the people of the United States in order to expand mutual understanding, as long as parties involved work in accordance with U.S. laws and regulations.”