Iranian official urges resumption of US consular services in Tehran

In an unprecedented development, the chairman of Iran National Development Fund has called on President Masoud Pezeshkian to re-establish US consular services at the venue of former American embassy in Tehran.

Mehdi Ghazanfari, appointed by former hardline president Ebrahim Raisi, addressed Pezeshkian in a tweet, saying, "It would be good, at the very least, to restore consular services at the US Embassy in Tehran out of respect for the Iranian people, so that the many Iranians there can travel more easily."

"Now that all the pillars of the regime are supporting you and your government, please, if you see fit, implement a few tasks that have been left unfinished for many years. It might be better to do these before the honeymoon period ends."

In 1979, a few months after the establishment of the Islamic Republic, a group labeled as student supporters of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini attacked the US embassy in Tehran and took dozens of Americans hostage for 444 days. They were release in January 1981, the day when President Ronald Regan was taking his oath of office. US and Iran have severed diplomatic relation for the past 44 years.

The National Development Fund (NDF) is Iran’s sovereign wealth fund and Ghazanfari is considered a high-level government official. Most of the fund, estimated to be around $100 billion has been drained in the past five years because of the impact of US sanctions.

Ghazanfari began his message to Pezeshkian by saying, "Now that all the pillars of the regime are supporting you and your government, please, if you see fit, implement a few tasks that have been left unfinished for many years. It might be better to do these before the honeymoon period ends."

He went on to say that the students who took over the embassy were most probably linked to the Iran’s Communist Tudeh Party. “They threw a rock into the well, which no one has been able to retrieve so far,” Ghaznfari said.

It is difficult to determine if Ghazanfari was expressing his personal opinion, or his tweet was an effort by the government or a certain faction to raise the issue of re-establishing ties with the United States.

An Iranian analyst, who wants to remain anonymous, told Iran International that if the government orchestrated Ghazanfari’s comments, the aim might have been to raise the issue and initiate a national conversation, using an economic figure to break the ice rather than a political official.

The analyst further noted that reactions in Tehran to Ghazanfari's remarks could indicate whether the government was involved. If Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or President Pezeshkian swiftly dismiss or condemn his statement, it would suggest that the policy at the top remains unchanged.

Amid unsurmountable economic crisis, there have been some signals in the past two months that Tehran might be open to improving relations with the West. The specter of Donald Trump’s re-election has made the Islamic Republic more nervous about harder times ahead. The Biden administration has been softer on Tehran, allowing breach of sanctions and releasing $16 billion of frozen funds.