Administration halts plan to establish Iran diplomatic outpost
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration has shelved plans to set up a diplomatic outpost in Iran, in part over fears it could affect the U. S. presidential race or be interpreted as political meddling, the Associated Press has learned.
The proposal to send U. S. diplomats to Tehran for the first time in three decades attracted great attention when it was floated over the summer but has now been placed on indefinite hold as the Nov. 4 election nears and Iran continues to defy U. N. demands to halt suspect nuclear activities, two officials told the AP on condition of anonymity.
The officials said the decision will be left to the next president because opening an outpost in Tehran could be seen as a reward for Iran’s nuclear intransigence, especially when Iran policy has become a key part of the heated campaign between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
Obama has called for unconditional direct talks with the leaders of adversaries such as Iran and North Korea, assuming that groundwork by lower-level officials indicated that the top-level talks would be fruitful.
McCain has ridiculed the suggestion as naive.
Thus, opening an interest section, or de facto embassy, in Tehran now could be interpreted as a Republican president helping a Republican nominee by neutralizing a distinction that might make the Democratic nominee more appealing. Or, it could be seen as hurting McCain by leaving him to defend a more hard-line position than the current president’s.
Either way, the administration concluded that now was not the time.
The idea’s demise represents the end of any efforts to remake the U. S. relationship with its most formidable Mideast adversary before President Bush leaves office in January.
The best-known effort would have had Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sit down for negotiations over Iran’s disputed nuclear program, with the tantalizing prospect of expanded talks on other subjects.
She said she would go anywhere, including Tehran, to have those conversations if Iran met its side of the bargain.
That offer went nowhere, in part because Iran refused to meet the U. S. terms to begin talks.
