Great Britain, London, 25 June /corr. Trend E.Tanriverdiyeva, G.Ahmadova / The idea of the USA to open its diplomatic representation in Tehran is theoretically practicable, but not in the near future.
"Legally the USA can open the office any time, any day, but the same time this office has to be protected by the Iranian authority," Iranian politician Alireza Nourizadeh said.
The Bush administration is considering setting up a diplomatic outpost in Iran in what would mark a dramatic official U.S. return to the country nearly 30 years after the American embassy was overrun and the two nations severed relations, Associated Press reported.
Nourizadeh considers that opening 'office' will depend on reaction of Tehran.
"US worries about the security and health of their diplomats. This is a certain reason for not opening the own interests section office in Iran.
Now, the U.S. realises all diplomatic operations throw american diplomat at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.
"After opening a special offices in the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, in Turkey, in London and in Frankfurt they decided that it is the time for them to have same office in Iran as an Iranian office in Washington," Dr. Alireza Nourizadeh, director of and a senior researcher at the Center for Iranian-Arab Studies, told Trend via telephone from London on 25 June.
According to him, the USA worries about the security and health of their diplomats. This is a certain reason for not opening the own interests section office in Iran. Now, the USA realizes all diplomatic operations throw American diplomat at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.
According to the American expert, Kenneth Katzman, the statement of the U.S. side on possible opening of an office in Tehran is impracticable.
"I do not believe such effort is imminent because the US proposed already such a step during the Clinton Administration," Katzman, Specialist in Middle East Affairs at Congressional Research Service, reported to Trend via e-mail on 25 June.
According to him, but Iran refused to allow American official personnel to serve in US interests section in Tehran
"From US side, this would be viewed as sign of weakness on nuclear issue. On Iranian side, conservatives would argue that this will create another "nest of American spies" and would be used for spying on Iran," Katzman said.
The American expert Mark N. Katz considers that good opportunities may appear for opening a U.S. representation in Iran.
"The Bush Administration, after all, is going to leave office in January, and so does not need to worry so much about American domestic opposition to improved relations with Iran (and there definitely would be opposition to this on the part of some groups)," Katz, Professor of Government and Politics Department at California University, said.
Diplomatic relations between Iran and the USA were broken in the end of 1979 when the revolutionary group of students angered that the recently deposed Shah had been allowed into the United States for cancer treatment, occupied the American embassy in Tehran and took U.S. diplomats hostage. 52 U.S. diplomats were held hostage for 444 days.
"As we say: we would go half way if Iran would go half way so we could both meet in the middle. I doubt, though, that Iran will be ready for this unless and until Ahmadinejad is replaced as president next year by someone more pragmatic (such as Rafsanjani)," Katz said.