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The Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United States[1] is a part of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C., and is the de facto consular representation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United States.
Iranian students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, leading to the breaking of diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States. As part of the Algiers Accords of 1981, the two countries agreed to establish "interests sections" to look after their interests in the other country. Each country picked a third country, which had friendly relations with both sides, to be its protecting power in the other capital.
The Iranian embassy was seized by the U.S. State Department in retaliation for Iran's seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. As a result, the Iranian Interests Section operated out of a small office on Wisconsin Avenue associated with the Pakistani Embassy between 1981 and 2015.[2][3] It has since relocated to a larger office space on 23rd Street NW, near D.C.'s Washington Circle.[4]
Algeria originally served as Iran's protecting power in the U.S. However, when Iranian leaders expressed support for the Islamic Salvation Front in January 1992, Algeria refused to continue serving as Iran's protecting power. In March 1992, Pakistan agreed to undertake a mandate as Iran's protecting power in the U.S.[5]
The Interests Section provides all essential consular services to Iranian citizens and issued visas to foreigners. Since the severing of diplomatic ties by Canada in 2012, the Section also handles the consular affairs of Iranian citizens residing in Canada.[1]
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This is an incomplete list. As agreed in the Algiers Accords of 1981, the Director is the sole Iranian diplomat at the Section. The rest of the employees are the clerical staff.
- Mr. Faramarz Fathnezhad (1996)
- Mr. Fariborz Jahansoozan (2000)
- Mr. Ali Jazini Dorcheh (2005)
- Mr. Mostafa Rahmani (2010)
- Mr. Mehdi Atefat (2015)
Threats against the Iranian diaspora and anti-regime critics
During the local protests by the local Iranian diaspora against a memorial to Raisi and to the Iranian Foreign Minister, a man who turned out to be an employee of the Iranian Special Interests Section of the Embassy of Pakistan made death threat gestures towards the demonstrators. The staffer, Ramezan Soltan-Mohammadi, has received a temporary restraining order from the Maryland court system that prevents him from coming close to at least one protest leader's home and workplace. A group composed of members of the diaspora has taken him to court, and the case is ongoing. [6] [7] [8]
The incident occurred just days before the incident in London where protesters against a similar memorial event there came under attack by attendees of the ceremony, allegedly by IRGC agents loyal to the regime. [9]
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The U.S. Interests Section in Tehran has been operating under the Swiss Embassy since 1980. Services for American citizens are limited. The section is not authorized to perform any U.S. visa/green card/immigration-related services. Contrary to usual practice, the old U.S. embassy complex was not handed over to the Swiss. Instead, part of the embassy has been turned into an anti-American museum, while the rest has become student organizations' offices.[10]
As of 2024, U.S. visa/green card services and interviews for Iranian citizens are conducted at U.S. Embassies and Consulates in other locations, namely Ankara, Turkey, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Armenia, Albania, which accordingly are staffed with Persian-speaking consular officers. [11]
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