Prior to 1944,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

was not served by a United States ambassador; instead, a

diplomatic minister Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

was sent. The first ambassador was named in 1944. After 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 ...

in 1979, the United States terminated diplomatic relations with the

Iranian government The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, نظام جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Neẓām-e jomhūrī-e eslāmi-e Irān, known simply as ''Neẓām'' ( fa, نظام, lit=the system) among its supporters) is the ruling state a ...

, therefore no ambassadors have since been appointed. The

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

has since then been represented in Iran by the United States

Interests Section 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 ...

of the Embassy of Switzerland in

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 ...

List of Ambassadors

This is a list of

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 territori ...

ambassadors An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

and other heads of

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 ...

s to

Iran

* Henry Harris Jessup - ''nominated for Chargé d'Affaires but withdrawn before approval'' * Samuel G. W. Benjamin (1883–1885) - ''first Chargé d'Affaires, but promoted to

Minister Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indi ...

almost immediately'' *

Bayless W. Hanna Bayless W. Hanna (March 14, 1830 – August 2, 1891) was an United States of America, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as the Indiana Attorney General, the United States Ambassador to Iran, U.S. Minister to Iran, and the ...

(1885) - ''Minister Resident - took oath of office but did not go to Persia'' * Frederick H. Winston (1885–1886) - ''Minister Resident'' * E. Spencer Pratt (1886–1891) - ''Minister Resident'' *

Truxtun Beale Truxtun Beale (March 6, 1856 – June 2, 1936) was an American diplomat. Biography Beale was born in San Francisco to Mary Engle Edwards and Edward Fitzgerald Beale; his siblings were Mary (1852–1925), who married Russian diplomat George B ...

(1891–1892) - ''Minister Resident'' * Watson R. Sperry (1892–1893) - ''Minister Resident'' * Alexander McDonald (1893–1897) - ''

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

, later Minister Resident'' * Arthur S. Hardy (1897–1899) - ''Minister Resident'' * William P. Lord (1899) - ''would have been Minister Resident, but declined appointment'' * Herbert W. Bowen (1899–1901) - ''Minister Resident'' * Lloyd C. Griscom (1901–1902) - ''Minister Plenipotentiary'' *

Richmond Pearson Richmond Mumford Pearson, Jr. (January 26, 1852 – September 12, 1923) was an American diplomat and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina. Biography Richmond Mumford Pearson, Jr. was born 26 January 1852 at Richmond ...

(1902–1907) - ''Minister Plenipotentiary'' *

John Brinkerhoff Jackson John Brinckerhoff Jackson (August 19, 1862 – December 20, 1920) was an American lawyer and diplomat who spent most of his career in Europe and the Middle East. Early life Jackson was born in Newark, New Jersey on August 19, 1862, to one of the ...

(1907–1909) - ''Minister Plenipotentiary'' * Charles Wells Russell Jr. (1909–1914) - ''Minister Plenipotentiary'' * John L. Caldwell (1914–1921) - ''Minister Plenipotentiary'' *

Joseph Saul Kornfeld Joseph Saul Kornfeld (February 12, 1876 – June 29, 1944) was an American Reform Judaism, reform rabbi and diplomat. He was US Head of mission, minister to Iran, Persia (Iran) from 1922 to 1924. Early life Kornfeld was born in 1876 in the Au ...

(1921–1924) - ''Minister Plenipotentiary'' * Hoffman Philip (1925–1928) - ''Minister Plenipotentiary'' * Charles C. Hart (1929–1933) - ''Minister Plenipotentiary, last envoy accredited to "Persia"'' * William H. Hornibrook (1934–1936) - ''Minister Plenipotentiary'' * Gordon P. Merriam (1936–1937) - ''Chargé d'Affaires'' * Cornelius Van H. Engert (1937–1940) - ''Chargé d'Affaires'' * Louis G. Dreyfus Jr. (1940–1943) - ''Minister Plenipotentiary'' * Leland B. Morris (1944–1945) - ''First ambassador'' * Wallace Murray (1945–1946) *

George V. Allen George Venable Allen (November 3, 1903 – July 11, 1970) was a United States diplomat. He served as ambassador to Iran during the crisis of 1946 and was involved in managing US relations amid the Cold War with the Soviet Union. He was involved ...

(1946–1948) * John C. Wiley (1948–1950) *

Henry F. Grady Henry Francis Grady (February 12, 1882 – September 14, 1957) was an American diplomat. Born in San Francisco, California, to John Henry and Ellen Genevieve (Rourke) Grady, he earned a PhD in economics from Columbia University. On October 18, ...

(1950–1951) * Loy W. Henderson (1951–1954) *

Julius C. Holmes Julius Cecil Holmes (April 24, 1899 – July 14, 1968) was a US government official who served as Ambassador to Iran. Holmes was born in Pleasanton, Kansas, and graduated from the University of Kansas in 1922. In 1942, Holmes served as the ...

- ''nominated, but nomination withdrawn before approved'' *

Selden Chapin Selden Chapin (September 19, 1899 – March 26, 1963) was a career foreign service officer and United States diplomat. Biography Selden Chapin was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, the son of Captain Frederic Lincoln Chapin (who was commander of the ...

(1955–1958) * Edward T. Wailes (1958–1961) *

(1961–1965) * Armin H. Meyer (1965–1969) *

Douglas MacArthur II Douglas MacArthur II (July 5, 1909 – November 15, 1997) was an American diplomat. During his diplomatic career, he served as United States ambassador to Japan, List of ambassadors of the United States to Belgium, Belgium, List of ambassadors of ...

(1969–1972) * Joseph S. Farland (1972–1973) *

Richard Helms Richard McGarrah Helms (March 30, 1913 – October 23, 2002) was an American government official and diplomat who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from 1966 to 1973. Helms began intelligence work with the Office of Strategic Ser ...

(1973–1977) *

William H. Sullivan William Healy Sullivan (October 12, 1922 – October 11, 2013) was an American Foreign Service career officer who served as ambassador to Laos from 1964 to 1969, the Philippines from 1973 to 1977, and Iran from 1977 to 1979. Early life and ca ...

(1977–1979) * Walter L. Cutler - ''nominated, but rejected by Iran'' *

Bruce Laingen Lowell Bruce Laingen (August 6, 1922 – July 15, 2019) was an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Malta from 1977 to 1979. Laingen is best known for having been the most senior American official held hostage during th ...

(1979) - ''Chargé d'Affaires, seized with the embassy on November 4, 1979. He was later released.

References

United States Department of State: Background notes on Iran
*

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Iran

United States Department of State: Iran
{{Iran–United States relations

20th century in Iran

List of Ambassadors

Iran

See also

References

External links