Iran's official news agency (IRNA) says Tehran would consider any U.S. request to set up a diplomatic presence in the Islamic Republic.

A Foreign Ministry official quoted by IRNA Tuesday said "in principle, Iranian officials will consider requests they receive through formal channels."

On Monday (06/23/2008), U.S. officials floated the idea of opening some sort of interests section in Iran. Chicago Tribune on their website posted that the Bush administration is considering opening a diplomatic outpost in Iran in what would be a dramatic official U.S. return to the country nearly 30 years after the American Embassy was overrun and the two nations severed relations.

"These are media reports and the motive behind their publication is not clear," an unnamed foreign ministry official said about a Washington Post report saying the US government is debating the move. "In principle, government officials will study requests that they receive through official channels," the foreign ministry source said.

Even as it threatens Iran with sanctions and possible military action over its nuclear program, the administration is weighing opening a U.S. interests section in Tehran similar to one in Havana, officials said Monday. Iran has operated an interests section in Washington for years. But the United States has not set up any diplomatic presence in Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and embassy hostage crisis. The U.S. currently relies on the Swiss Embassy in Tehran to pass messages to the Iranian Foreign Ministry and handle the affairs of U.S. citizens in the country.