Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Thursday that the proposal to establish a US diplomatic interests section in Tehran is a "deceitful move".
"I do not like to talk about rumors but it seems that some of these rumors are very sneaky," the official IRNA news agency quoted Larijani as saying, when responding to reports on building US diplomatic presence in Tehran.
Americans are not honest in their words, Larijani said, adding that they would have accepted a request by Iranian government in 2006 for direct flights between the two countries.
Earlier, several media reported that the US was considering requested for an interests section in Tehran to process Iranian visa applications to the US and to serve as an American cultural center despite 30 years of severed ties between the two countries.
Currently, the Swiss embassy in Tehran houses a US special interests section to communicate messages from Washington to Iran and to handle the affairs of US citizens inside the Islamic Republic.
US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice declined to confirm or deny the proposal but said that Washington was eager to allow more Iranians to visit the States.
At a news briefing Tuesday, US State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey also reiterated that despite its differences with the Iranian government the United States was looking for ways to reach out to Iran's citizens.
(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2008)
