President Barack Obama this week said he was not ruling out the possibility of reopening an embassy in Iran, but the Islamic Republic says there are no plans to do so at the moment.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry made clear on Wednesday that the reopening of the two countries’ embassies is not on the agenda of talks between them.
“The two countries’ talks is solely about the nuclear issue and the issue (of reopening of embassies) is not on the agenda,” stressed Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham, according to Press TV.
Obama’s comments on reopening the embassy came in an interview with NPR, in which he was asked whether he could envision opening an embassy in Iran during his final two years in office.
"I never say never," Obama said, adding that America’s ties with Tehran must be restored in steps.
Referring to Iran’s ongoing talks with the West about its nuclear program, the president said believes there's a chance the issue could be resolved.
“We have to get this nuclear issue resolved – and there's a chance to do it, and the question's going to be whether or not Iran is willing to seize it,” said Obama.
In 1979, radical students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held its 52-member staff hostage for 444 days. The United States subsequently closed the embassy and has had no diplomatic relations with the country ever since, but Obama has reportedly been growing closer to Iran and its terror proxies Hamas and Hezbollah.
In fact, The Wall Street Journal reported in November that Obama had sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, describing their shared interested regarding Islamic State (ISIS).
The White House refused to comment on whether Obama had indeed sent such a letter, and would only reiterate that Washington’s policy toward Iran has not changed.
An Iranian official later confirmed that Obama had indeed sent letters to the Iranian leader, and said that some of the letters were replied to.
Even if Obama is indeed trying to restore some sort of ties with Iran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) recently made clear the feeling isn't mutual.
"The U.S. is still the great Satan and the number one enemy of the (Islamic) revolution, and the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation...will never allow the dignity and independence of the Islamic homeland to be threatened and harmed by the will of the enemies," read a statement from the powerful branch of the Iranian military in November.
Khamenei himself has in the past referred to the United States as “Satan”, claiming that the United States is “the greatest violator of human rights in the world.”