Iran’s Foreign Minister said Sunday that it was premature to consider the reopening of a U.S. embassy in the country.
Javad Zarif’s remarks come as Britain restored its diplomatic presence in the country, four years after protesters stormed the U.K. embassy, triggering a breakdown in relations.
Speaking at a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in Tehran, Zarif said the time was not right for Washington to follow suit, reports Reuters.
“It seems that there needs to be a change in that kind of attitude and behavior on the part of the U.S.,” he said. “So the situation is different with the U.S.”
America’s relations with Iran broke down in 1979 after a group of Iranian students, who supported the Islamic Revolution in the wake of the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, sacked the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
Angered by Washington’s support of the ousted Shah and his admittance to the U.S. for medical treatment, the students took over the compound, taking 52 hostages. The ensuing hostage crisis lasted 444 days.
[Reuters]
- Volodymyr Zelensky and the Spirit of Ukraine: TIME's 2022 Person of the Year
- Mickey Guyton Is TIME's 2022 Breakthrough Artist of the Year
- The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2022
- Column: What Elon Musk Gets Wrong About Free Speech
- The Forgotten Story of One of the First U.S. Soldiers Killed Overseas After Pearl Harbor
- Why You're More Likely to Get Sick in the Winter, According to New Research
- Column: What the Protests Tell Us About China's Future
- 18 Last-Minute Gifts for Everyone on Your List
