Tehran has no plans to establish diplomatic ties with Washington

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

A senior Iranian diplomat has refused information about the plans of the Islamic Republic to establish diplomatic relations with the United States.

"The establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States is not on the agenda of Tehran," Deputy Foreign Minister for International and Legal Affairs Abbas Araghchi said at the meeting of the Human Rights Council, according to Iranian media.

The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States lack official diplomatic relations for 38 years. Tehran and Washington broke diplomatic ties after a group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was signed in 2015 by Iran and the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany (P5+1), was also the first official agreement between Iran and the United States since 1979. In fact, no substantial change has occurred in the diplomatic climate between the two countries since the implementation of the deal in January 2016.

Despite the fact that the U.S. is committed to lifting sanctions over nuclear program against Iran, the country retains other sanctions against Tehran.  These sanctions bar American citizens and companies from most forms of investment or trade with the country.

In December, Washington prolonged the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) by the United States that passed in 1996 and was set to expire on December 31, 2016.

In the late January, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing temporary ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran.

Tehran then announced it will take legal, political and reciprocal measures in response to Trump's order suspending the entry of people from Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries.