United States-Iran relations
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There are no formal diplomatic relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America. Because the two nations currently do not have direct diplomatic relations, instead of exchanging ambassadors, Iran maintains an interests section at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C. while the United States has maintained a corresponding interests section at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran (since 1980). Since December 2011, the United States has also maintained a virtual embassy online (now a blocked website in Iran).
Relations between the two nations began in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Initially, while Iran was very wary of British and Russian colonial interests during the Great Game, the United States was seen as a more trustworthy foreign power, and the Americans Arthur Millspaugh and Morgan Shuster were even appointed treasurers-general by the Shahs of the time. During World War II, Iran was invaded by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, both US allies, but relations continued to be positive after the war until the later years of the government of Mohammad Mossadeq, who was overthrown by a coup organized by the Central Intelligence Agency and aided by the MI6. This was followed by an era of very close alliance and friendship between Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's regime and the U.S. government, which was in turn followed by a dramatic reversal and disagreement between the two countries after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. During this era, Iran was one of the United States' closest allies.
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