Since the 1979-1981 hostage crisis, there have been no US diplomats stationed in Iran, but the time may be approaching to send Americans back, given recent progress in the nuclear talks and a breakthrough in high-level US-Iran contacts. Officials in the Barack Obama administration say that their priority is finalizing a comprehensive nuclear accord, but broader diplomatic moves could follow.

Ramin Asgard, an Iranian-American who dealt with Iran indirectly for many years as a US Foreign Service officer, argues in a report to be released Feb. 19 that staffing a US interests section in Tehran with Americans — one step shy of full diplomatic relations — would serve US national security in a number of ways.

The diplomats would gain an understanding of Iran that has been lacking in official Washington for three decades — a situation, Asgard asserts, that has led to “disjointed, often contradictory and consistently suboptimal policy outcomes.” The Americans could also process visas for Iranians seeking to visit the United States — at present they must travel to neighboring countries to obtain them — and provide services to American citizens in Iran, including dual nationals. Switzerland currently represents US interests in Iran, but is limited in the services its diplomats can provide.

Iranian-Americans overwhelmingly support a return of US diplomats to Iran to staff an interests section. A 2011 survey by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian-Americans, the nonpartisan group that commissioned Asgard's report, found 73% in favor. Processing visas in Tehran could also boost the number of Iranians studying in the United States, an important element of cultural diplomacy.