Anti-American propaganda at the former US embassy, Tehran, 2

The Embassy of the United States of America in Tehran was the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

in the

Imperial State of Iran Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, T ...

. Direct bilateral

diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

between the two governments were severed following the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

in 1979, and the subsequent seizure of the embassy in November 1979.

History

The

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

was designed in 1948 by the architect Ides van der Gracht, the designer of the Embassy of the United States in Ankara. It was a long, low two-story brick building, similar to American high schools built in the 1930s and 1940s. For this reason, the building was nicknamed "Henderson High" by the embassy staff, referring to

Loy W. Henderson Loy Wesley Henderson (June 28, 1892 – March 24, 1986) was a United States Foreign Service Officer and diplomat. Background Loy Wesley Henderson was born on June 28, 1892, in Rogers, Arkansas, to a poor Methodist preacher. He attended college ...

, who became America's ambassador to Iran just after construction was completed in 1951. The US diplomatic mission has been defunct and the building has not been used by the U.S. since the

Iran hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...

of 1979. Since then, the United States government has been represented in Iran by the United States Interests Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Tehran.Embassy of Switzerland in Iran – Foreign Interests Section

Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA, german: Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten, french: Département fédéral des affaires étrangères, it, Dipartimento federale degli affari esteri, rm, ), so name ...

(page visited on 4 April 2015). The name given to the compound by the embassy's occupiers and still used by many Iranians is variously translated as "den of spies", "espionage den," "den of espionage", and "nest of spies". After the fall of the embassy, the Revolutionary Guard used it as a training center, and continue to maintain the complex. The brick walls that form the perimeter (the embassy grounds are the size of a city block) feature a number of

anti-American Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment) is prejudice, fear, or hatred of the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general. Political scientist Brendon O'Connor at the United States Studies Centr ...

murals commissioned by the government of Iran. The site has also housed a bookstore and a museum. Part of the embassy has been turned into an anti-American museum, and several student organizations maintain offices in the former embassy complex. As of January 2017, the site is open to the Iranian public and foreigners. The Great Seal of the United States is badly damaged, but still visible at the entryway. The

Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line The Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line ( fa, دانشجویان مسلمان پیرو خط امام ''Dânešjuyân-e Mosalmân-e peyrov-e Xatt-e Emâm''), also called the Muslim Students of the Imam Khomeini Line, was an Iranian student g ...

published documents seized in the embassy (including painstakingly reconstructed shredded documents) in a series of books called "Documents from the US Espionage Den" ( fa, اسناد لانه جاسوس امریكا, ). These books included telegrams, correspondence, and reports from the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

and

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

, some of which remain classified to this day.

U.S. Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy

When diplomatic relations were broken, the United States appointed Switzerland to be its

protecting power A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state in a country where it lacks its own diplomatic representation. It is common for protecting powers to be appointed when two countries break off diplomatic relations with e ...

in Iran. Informal relations are carried out through the United States Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy. Services for American citizens are limited. The section is not authorized to perform any U.S. visa/green card/immigration-related services. In February 2009, the

Iranian police , mottotranslated = "Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity" ( Heraldry slogan) , formedyear = 1991 , formedmonthday = April 1 , preceding1 = Shahrbani (1913–1991)Gendarmerie (1910–1991)Committee (1979–1991) , em ...

arrested Marco Kämpf, the Swiss diplomat acting as the First Secretary of the US Interests, after finding him with an Iranian woman facing him in the driver's seat of his official diplomatic car. He was immediately recalled to Switzerland.

Former Iranian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. State Department seized the former Iranian Embassy in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in retaliation for the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The Iranian Interests Section operates out of the Pakistani Embassy.

References

External links

* hosts a gallery of photographs taken from inside the US Embassy during the crisis. * 400 Pages of Still-Classified CIA and State Dept Documents Seized From the US Embassy in Tehran.
متن کامل و تحلیل اسناد لانه جاسوسی آمریکا (The Full Text and Analysis of the Documents from the US Espionage Den)Inside The Former US Embassy In Tehran, IranDocuments from the U.S. Espionage DenPhotograph of the embassy gates, 2008
(on flickr)
Virtual Embassy of the United States, Tehran
(not a physical presence in Iran) {{DEFAULTSORT:Embassy of the United States, Tehran Iran–United States relations

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Buildings and structures in Tehran Defunct diplomatic missions

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Iran hostage crisis

History

U.S. Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy

Former Iranian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

See also

References

External links