The United States will announce in the next month plans to establish a diplomatic presence in Iran for the first time in 30 years, London's Guardian newspaper said Thursday.
The administration of President George W. Bush plans to establish an interests section staffed with diplomats similar to its outpost in Cuba, the newspaper said without identifying any sources.
The White House and the U.S. State Department declined to comment.
But a State Department official acknowledged last month that U.S. officials have discussed the possibility of opening an interests section in Tehran.
"I know it has been discussed," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "I don't know how active it is."
"I don't think there is anybody out there pushing that right now," the official added.
The Guardian report came after the Bush administration announced Wednesday that its number three diplomat, Under Secretary of State William Burns, would attend international nuclear talks with Iran on Saturday - the highest-ranking meeting between the two foes in three decades.
Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic relations since 1980, after Islamist students stormed the U.S. mission in Tehran, holding diplomats hostage for more than a year.