Marzieh Afkham: The reopening of Iranian and American embassies is not on the agenda

The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that the reopening of Iranian and American embassies is not on the agenda of negotiations between the two countries, and the parties are only discussing Iran's nuclear file. According to ISNA news agency, Marzieh Afkham said on Tuesday, January 9, regarding the possibility of reopening the embassies: "The discussions between the two countries have solely been about the nuclear issue, and this matter is not on the agenda of negotiations between the two countries." She also referred to the publication of a news item citing "an Arab media outlet" and added: "No responsible source from the Foreign Ministry has spoken to the media on this matter." These statements by Ms. Afkham come at a time when the newspaper "Al-Hayat" quoted "an informed source" in the Iranian Foreign Ministry regarding the possibility of reopening the embassies in each other's territory, stating that this issue is related to the positions of the United States and how this country interacts with Iran, as well as regional developments. The newspaper reported that this informed source announced that Iran has no plans in this regard. Barack Obama, the President of the United States, in an interview with NPR radio, which was published on January 8, considered the possibility of reopening the U.S. embassy in Tehran as plausible, stating that "first, the differences must be resolved in various stages." Nevertheless, the U.S. President said Iran is different from Cuba. The U.S. and Cuba announced on December 17 that they would improve their relations after 50 years. Hassan Rouhani, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, stated last February that reopening the U.S. embassy in Tehran is not impossible. 35 years ago, on November 4, 1979, a group of students who called themselves followers of Imam Khomeini climbed the wall of the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took dozens of its employees hostage. Relations between the two countries have been severed since then. After Hassan Rouhani came to power, the Presidents of Iran and the United States spoke on the phone for the first time in 34 years. Since then, the foreign ministers of Iran and the U.S. have met and talked several times, although both sides say these negotiations have been focused on Tehran's nuclear file. The newspaper Al-Hayat also reported that in a recent letter from Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, to his counterparts in the 1+5 group countries, he discussed the opportunity that these negotiations would create for security and stability in the region and the world. The IRNA news agency reported on January 3 about "separate letters" that Mr. Zarif wrote to the foreign ministers of several countries, in which he outlined Tehran's "principled positions" regarding nuclear negotiations. The report did not specify when these letters were sent and to which foreign ministers. According to this report, Mr. Zarif expressed regret in this letter about "some efforts in the U.S. and Europe that, instead of adhering to their commitments to ease sanctions, have sought to impose further actions to maintain and strengthen the sanctions regime."