Rice: U.S. “determined” to reach out to Iranian people
Washington, 24 June (IranVNC)—US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that the United States was determined to engage the Iranian people, but would not say whether Washington might open an interest section in Tehran in the near future.
By: IranVNC
Published: Tuesday, June 24, 2008
12:55GMT—8:55AM/EST
US – IRAN – DIPLOMACY
Washington, 24 June (IranVNC)—US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that the United States was determined to engage the Iranian people, but would not say whether Washington might open an interest section in Tehran in the near future.
In an editorial published in the Washington Post yesterday, editor Fred Hiatt wrote that the idea of opening an interest section staffed by US diplomats, which has been under consideration for nearly two years, “could be adopted within weeks”.
“This would fall short of full diplomatic recognition, but it would open a channel to the Iranian people and, maybe, eventually, to the regime as well,” Hiatt wrote, quoting unnamed senior State Department officials.
Asked to confirm the report, Rice declined to comment. But she told reporters that the Iranian government “continues to isolate Iran, and therefore, isolate the Iranian people who should not be isolated.”
“These are people who deserve better,” Rice continued. “The United States has been, for some time, trying to reach out to the Iranian people in various ways.”
The US embassy in Dubai currently processes visas for Iranians to visit the United States. Rice acknowledged that it can be difficult for them to travel to apply for visas, but said the U.S. still hopes to have more exchanges of visits between the Iranian and American peoples.
“We want more Iranians visiting the United States,” she said. “We want the efforts that we’ve engaged in to have Iranian artists in the United States, American sports people in Iran.”
“We’re determined to find ways to reach out to the Iranian people,” Rice added.
The interest section described by Hiatt would be capable of processing visas for Iranians in Iran. But State Department spokesperson Tom Casey yesterday
dismissed the report, saying he was “unaware of any plans” to establish an active interest section.
Iran has responded to the report, saying it would give consideration to any such official request.
“These are media reports and the motive behind their publication is not clear,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted an unnamed foreign ministry official as saying.
“In principle, government officials will study requests that they receive through official channels,” the source said.
Currently, the Embassy of Switzerland houses a Swiss-staffed U.S. interest section in Iran, and Iran operates an active interest section out of Pakistan’s embassy in Washington, DC.
Source: State Department website, IRNA, Washington Post
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