Iran says U.S. 'virtual embassy' won't compensate for mistakes

[News_Editor]

Iran says U.S. 'virtual embassy' won't compensate for mistakes

2011-12-09 05:32:28 GMT+7 (ICT)

TEHRAN (BNO NEWS) -- The Iranian government on Thursday criticized the U.S. government for launching a so-called 'virtual embassy', saying it will not compensate for 'mistakes' made in the past.

The Virtual U.S. Embassy to Tehran was launched on Tuesday on tehran.usembassy.gov in an effort to reach out to the Iranian people. The website is not a formal diplomatic mission, nor does it represent or describe a real U.S. Embassy accredited to the Iranian Government.

As of Thursday, the website contains visa information, articles, general information and a video of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the launch of the Virtual Embassy. Less than a day after the embassy's website went online, Iranian authorities blocked both the English- and Farsi-language websites.

Ramin Mehmanparast, a spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Virtual Embassy "highlights the confession to the big mistake" the United States government made by severing ties between the two nations. Diplomatic relations were severed in the wake of the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, which saw a revolutionary student group occupy the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and hold 52 American diplomats hostage for 444 days.

Mehmanparast said the U.S. government 'turned its back to the Iranian people' by severing ties and that, since then, it has conveyed its messages through sanctions, firing at Iran Air Flight 655 in 1988, alleged financial support to anti-Iran terrorist groups and the alleged CIA assassinations of Iranian scientists.

The spokesman said the Virtual Embassy will not be able to compensate those 'mistakes'. "[instead], it is better for them to take lesson from the past and to honestly seek changing their approach and attitude towards the great nation of Iran," he added.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-12-09

[Pedzie]

A step in the right direction I suppose.

[Jingthing]

Yeah, such a big mistake to sever ties with a nation that attacks your embassy and holds your diplomats hostage for over a year. I trust the Iranian people for the most part understand what a horror show of a government they have.

No chance really that there will be a real USA embassy in Iran anytime soon:

Obama also spoke of what he said were the lengths the U.S. had gone to ensure Iran would pay a price for its nuclear aspirations, saying that it was "very important to remember, particularly given some of the political noise out there, that this administration has systematically imposed the toughest sanctions on Iran ever."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/obama-iran-won-t-be-allowed-to-develop-nuclear-weapons-1.400406 Edited December 8, 2011 by Jingthing

[Scott]

Iran doesn't seem to do well with Embassies.

[maidu]

Iran thought it could further manipulate US politics by holding the hostages throughout the US campaign which pitched Jimmy Carter seeking re-election vs Ronald Reagan. Iran did indeed influence the election somewhat, and wound up releasing the hostages on the very day that Reagan was inaugerated. In their ignorance, Iran immans didn't realize they helped bring in a right wing US president who was more hard-lined against Iran, than Carter ever was. Or maybe not.

A while later, the Reagan administration got in trouble with Contra-gate, which revealed how the US was clandestinely sending money to Iran for weapons which could be shipped from Iran to the ultra right wingers making civil war in Nicaragua (due to the US Congress not sanctioning the dirty war, Reagan and his buddies had to circumvent the law and thereby involve the Iranians). One notable event was when US Defense Secretary secretly traveled to Iran to present a large cake in the shape of a Bible to the Ayotolla, to thank him for his help in keeping the civil war going in Nicaragua.

After that, the Iranians went to war with Iraq, notable for Iranian top brass sending wave upon wave of teenaged men marching in to killing fields, to get pulverized by Iraqi weaponry. When the smoke cleared, they called it a draw.

Current affairs: Get ready for additional bloody demonstrations in Teheran, as the regular people there privately hate the Immans and the politicians there - who rule with iron fists.

[daninthai]

Iran could be a great country, but they've got to do 3 things before it will ever happen. 1) The people need to become more humble. Iranians are some of the most nationalistically arrogant people I've met. 2) The 'normal' people need to revolt against those in control. Freedom will never be given, only taken. 3) Drug addiction needs to be tackled. Drugs are a huge problem there.

[GentlemanJim]

Iran could be a great country, but they've got to do 3 things before it will ever happen. 1) The people need to become more humble. Iranians are some of the most nationalistically arrogant people I've met. 2) The 'normal' people need to revolt against those in control. Freedom will never be given, only taken. 3) Drug addiction needs to be tackled. Drugs are a huge problem there.

Quite true but also quite funny. You could replace two words in your paragraph and your message would still hold true. For Iran insert USA and for Iranians insert Americans.

[chuckd]

Iran could be a great country, but they've got to do 3 things before it will ever happen. 1) The people need to become more humble. Iranians are some of the most nationalistically arrogant people I've met. 2) The 'normal' people need to revolt against those in control. Freedom will never be given, only taken. 3) Drug addiction needs to be tackled. Drugs are a huge problem there.

Quite true but also quite funny. You could replace two words in your paragraph and your message would still hold true. For Iran insert USA and for Iranians insert Americans.

This can apply to nearly any country one doesn't like. Why pick the US as your target country? Why not Thailand?

All those people standing in lines in real US Embassies to get visas to enter the US might tell you the US is already a great country.

[sbk]

Discussion is about virtual embassy, off topic posts deleted

[Scott]

And 2 more off-topic posts have been deleted. Please stay on-topic.

[elgato]

Iran doesn't seem to do well with Embassies.

[Steely Dan]

Iran doesn't seem to do well with Embassies.

Even virtual ones.

[Scott]

A lot of off-topic posts have been removed.

This topic is about a virtual embassy. Please try to find out what exactly an embassy does and what this version of an embassy will do.

Years ago, I worked with an agency that helped screen Iranian refugees in Turkey for resettlement in the US. Family members of Iranians seeking to visit or resettle under family reunification visits needed to go to countries such as Turkey to obtain a visa; a long, expensive, arduous journey. Refusal because of missing documentation was a BIG problem and they needed to start the process over.

Everything an embassy does is NOT political. It is important to ordinary people who have ordinary reasons for needing to contact and get information.

This topic has little, if any, relevance to Israel, the holocaust, and historical events that pre-date all but the oldest members on this forum.

[GMoney]

A while later, the Reagan administration got in trouble with Contra-gate, which revealed how the US was clandestinely sending money to Iran for weapons which could be shipped from Iran to the ultra right wingers making civil war in Nicaragua (due to the US Congress not sanctioning the dirty war, Reagan and his buddies had to circumvent the law and thereby involve the Iranians). One notable event was when US Defense Secretary secretly traveled to Iran to present a large cake in the shape of a Bible to the Ayotolla, to thank him for his help in keeping the civil war going in Nicaragua.

The 'ultra right wingers' were fighting communists who were being backed by Castro and the Soviets.

After that, the Iranians went to war with Iraq, notable for Iranian top brass sending wave upon wave of teenaged men marching in to killing fields, to get pulverized by Iraqi weaponry. When the smoke cleared, they called it a draw.

Current affairs: Get ready for additional bloody demonstrations in Teheran, as the regular people there privately hate the Immans and the politicians there - who rule with iron fists.

The Iran-Iraq war started in 1980...well before the Iran-Contra arms deals.

[Scott]

Again, please stay on the topic of the OP.

[Exsexyman]

A while later, the Reagan administration got in trouble with Contra-gate, which revealed how the US was clandestinely sending money to Iran for weapons which could be shipped from Iran to the ultra right wingers making civil war in Nicaragua (due to the US Congress not sanctioning the dirty war, Reagan and his buddies had to circumvent the law and thereby involve the Iranians). One notable event was when US Defense Secretary secretly traveled to Iran to present a large cake in the shape of a Bible to the Ayotolla, to thank him for his help in keeping the civil war going in Nicaragua.

The 'ultra right wingers' were fighting communists who were being backed by Castro and the Soviets.

After that, the Iranians went to war with Iraq, notable for Iranian top brass sending wave upon wave of teenaged men marching in to killing fields, to get pulverized by Iraqi weaponry. When the smoke cleared, they called it a draw.

Current affairs: Get ready for additional bloody demonstrations in Teheran, as the regular people there privately hate the Immans and the politicians there - who rule with iron fists.

The Iran-Iraq war started in 1980...well before the Iran-Contra arms deals.

I think you mean the Iraq - Iran war. Iraq attacked Iran, armed and supported by America and their allies.Of course that was in the days when Saddam was a good ol guy, one of ours. Iran / Persia have not attacked or invaded another country for centuries.

[lovetotravel]

I think you mean the Iraq - Iran war. Iraq attacked Iran, armed and supported by America and their allies.Of course that was in the days when Saddam was a good ol guy, one of ours. Iran / Persia have not attacked or invaded another country for centuries.

Hmm. That not what it says here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_aid_to_combatants_in_the_Iran%E2%80%93Iraq_War

Iraq's army was primarily equipped with weaponry it had purchased from the Soviet Union and its satellites in the preceding decade. During the war, it purchased billions of dollars worth of advanced equipment from France, the People's Republic of China, Egypt, Germany, and other sources.^[5]

The United States sold Iraq over $200 million in helicopters, which were used by the Iraqi military in the war. These were the only direct U.S.-Iraqi military sales. At the same time, the CIA began covertly directing non-U.S. origin hardware to Saddam Hussein's armed forces, "to ensure that Iraq had sufficient military weapons, ammunition and vehicles to avoid losing the Iran-Iraq war."^[6]

Germany, the U.S. and United Kingdom also provided "dual use" technology that allowed Iraq to expand its missile program and radar defenses.

According to an uncensored copy of Iraq's 11,000-page declaration to the U.N., leaked to Die Tageszeitung and reported by The Independent, the know-how and material for developing unconventional weapons were obtained from 150 foreign companies, from countries such as West Germany, the U.S., France, UK, and the People's Republic of China.^[7]

Iraq's main financial backers were the oil-rich Persian Gulf states, most notably Saudi Arabia ($30.9 billion), Kuwait ($8.2 billion) and the United Arab Emirates ($8 billion).^[8]

The Iraqgate scandal revealed that an Atlanta branch of Italy's largest bank, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, relying largely on U.S. taxpayer-guaranteed loans, funneled $5 billion to Iraq from 1985 to 1989.

Seems the Soviet Union and China sold to both sides.

As for Iran not being involved in wars for centuries is not true. USSR and the UK was a big one in the early 1900's. And according to this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Iran#Qajar_Era_.281781_to_1925.29

Regionally, since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has sought to exert its influence by supporting various groups (militarily and politically). It openly supports Hizbullah in Lebanon in order to influence Lebanon. Various Kurdish groups are also supported as needed in order to maintain control of its Kurdish regions. In neighbouring Afghanistan, Iran supported the Northern Alliance for over a decade against the Taliban, and nearly went to war against the Taliban in 1998.^[24]

Might want to do some research before jumping on the "blame America" campaign. Unfortunately for some, America is not to blame for ALL of the world's woes.

[Scott]

If the thread is going to stray off-topic, which it now appears that it is doing, then please make sure the discussion is intelligent and civil.

[Pedzie]

I have a funny feeling the UK may follow suit with a virtual embassy, the Uk Gov just recently closed It's Tehran embassy and told all Iranian diplomats to leave the UK Iranian embassy due to anti UK protests in Tehran.

[elgato]

If I have a virtual gf can she get a tourist visa at the US virtual embassy?

[Jingthing]

How come FRANCE isn't having the issues the UK and US are having?

My understanding is that they are calling for sanctions even more severe than the USA has called for.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2011/11/21/france_pushes_for_unprecedented_iran_sanctions/

A statement from President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said France is asking those countries -- as well as Japan and the European Union -- to impose "unprecedented" sanctions, including freezing the assets of Iran's central bank and suspending the purchase of Iranian oil.

[Scott]

If I have a virtual gf can she get a tourist visa at the US virtual embassy?

Is she Iranian? If not, she'll have to settle for a virtual visa to the virtual US.

[elgato]

If I have a virtual gf can she get a tourist visa at the US virtual embassy?

Is she Iranian? If not, she'll have to settle for a virtual visa to the virtual US.

She's virtually there already

[jimbeam1]

It would seem that by opening a "Virtual Embassy" in Iran, America is just trying to stir up unrest? Maybe England should do the same.

jb1

Edited December 12, 2011 by jimbeam1

[Scott]

I think that stirring up trouble is not the purpose of having a virtual embassy. There are thousands of people in Iran who need practical information on the US. I believe I mentioned it before, but Iranians who are eligible for family reunification resettlement visas as well as spouses and minor children of Iranians now in the US need clear information on what they need and how and where to proceed.

There are also Iranians in need of medical treatment in the US. Some are family members who may have a kidney, for example, to donate to an Iranian born US citizen.

It is unfortunate that ordinary citizens get caught in politics beyond their control. The internet seems like a solution to this problem.

[jimbeam1]

I think that stirring up trouble is not the purpose of having a virtual embassy. There are thousands of people in Iran who need practical information on the US. I believe I mentioned it before, but Iranians who are eligible for family reunification resettlement visas as well as spouses and minor children of Iranians now in the US need clear information on what they need and how and where to proceed.

There are also Iranians in need of medical treatment in the US. Some are family members who may have a kidney, for example, to donate to an Iranian born US citizen.

It is unfortunate that ordinary citizens get caught in politics beyond their control. The internet seems like a solution to this problem.

The problem then is it can easily be policed. Could cause problems. User beware?

jb1

Edited December 12, 2011 by jimbeam1

[Scott]

Or user be anonymous. Not so easy, but possible, I guess.

A lot of information may not require any posting, just a review of what one needs to do/have.

I would also guess that much of the information will be needed by relatives overseas, who would be less likely to be hassled.