Fifty Embassies Without Ambassadors

The deputy chairman of Iran’s Majlis committee on national security and foreign policy announced that there are currently 50 Iranian embassies and legations around the world that have no ambassador. Earlier, the spokesperson of the country’s foreign ministry had categorically denied this and said that there were absolutely no embassies without an ambassador.

Speaking to Tasnim news agency on Sunday, Mansoor Haghighatpour, the Majlis deputy committee chairman said, “Currently there are 50 legations of the Islamic republic around the word that are managed by charge d’affaires and we expect that they will soon have their ambassadors.” He continued, “Because of this we now have a need for initiative and action in diplomacy and so must improve our relations with certain countries, while the embassies must be enriched from a human resource perspective.”

These remarks are in stark contrast with what Abbas Araghchi, the spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs said on August 7, 2013 as reported by Fars news agency that currently there were no embassies without an ambassador.

Quoting some media and news reports Fars had written that there were rumors that a massive recall of ambassadors and heads of mission was under way. Araghchi denied such a decision or action and added that any returns home were part of normal duties and decisions.

“In view of the existence of over 100 legations outside the country and their three-year rotations, there are between 30 to 49 ambassadors and heads of missions that are changed every year, which is a routine event,” he said.

In his remarks, Majlis’s deputy committee chairman Haghighatpour also made a reference to President Hassan Rowhani’s ministerial nominee for the foreign ministry and said, “Mohammad Javad Zarif is a professional who has been at the ministry full time and hopes that he will inject a special energy into the diplomacy of the Islamic republic. I hope that his capabilities will be used in our foreign relations.”

Zarif was questioned by Majlis representatives, along with other cabinet nominees by Rowhani, earlier this week. Some conservative members of the Majlis questioned some of Rowhani’s nominees.

In a related news, another member of Majlis’s national security committee Nozar Shafii said in June that a number of Iranian embassy buildings had been put up for sale, and defended such a move. Reacting to this news, Haghighatpour had said, “The Islamic republic has some specific construction plans for some of its embassies abroad which are already under construction. But since there is a shortage of funds to compete these projects, the sale of some embassies will provide the needed funds.”

During his campaign and after being elected president, Hassan Rowhani has pledged to improve Iran’s international standing and relax the current tensions by stressing on the respecting “mutual respect.”