List of ambassadors of the United States to Iran

Ambassador of the United States to Iran
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent None
Nominator	The President of the United States
Inaugural holder	Leland Burnette Morris
Formation	1944
Abolished	1979

Prior to 1944, Iran was not served by a United States ambassador; instead, a diplomatic minister was sent. The first ambassador was named in 1944.

After the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, the United States terminated diplomatic relations with the Iranian government, therefore no ambassadors have since been appointed. The United States government has since then been represented in Iran by the United States Interests Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Tehran.^{[citation needed]}

Ambassadors

This is a list of United States ambassadors and other heads of diplomatic missions to Iran.

Iran

Henry Harris Jessup - nominated for Chargé d'Affaires but withdrawn before approval
Samuel G. W. Benjamin (1883–1885) - first Chargé d'Affaires, but promoted to Minister Resident almost immediately
Bayless W. Hanna (1885) - Minister Resident - took oath of office but did not go to Persia
Frederick H. Winston (1885–1886) - Minister Resident
E. Spencer Pratt (1886–1891) - Minister Resident
Truxtun Beale (1891–1892) - Minister Resident
Watson R. Sperry (1892–1893) - Minister Resident
Alexander McDonald (1893–1897) - Minister Plenipotentiary, later Minister Resident
Arthur S. Hardy (1897–1899) - Minister Resident
William P. Lord (1899) - would have been Minister Resident, but declined appointment
Herbert W. Bowen (1899–1901) - Minister Resident
Lloyd C. Griscom (1901–1902) - Minister Plenipotentiary
Richmond Pearson (1902–1907) - Minister Plenipotentiary
John Brinkerhoff Jackson (1907–1909) - Minister Plenipotentiary
Charles Wells Russell Jr. (1909–1914) - Minister Plenipotentiary
John L. Caldwell (1914–1921) - Minister Plenipotentiary
Joseph Saul Kornfeld (1921–1924) - Minister Plenipotentiary
Hoffman Philip (1925–1928) - Minister Plenipotentiary
Charles C. Hart (1929–1933) - Minister Plenipotentiary, last envoy accredited to "Persia"
William H. Hornibrook (1934–1936) - Minister Plenipotentiary
Gordon P. Merriam (1936–1937) - Chargé d'Affaires
Cornelius Van H. Engert (1937–1940) - Chargé d'Affaires
Louis G. Dreyfus Jr. (1940–1943) - Minister Plenipotentiary
Leland B. Morris (1944–1945) - First ambassador
Wallace Murray (1945–1946)
George V. Allen (1946–1948)
John C. Wiley (1948–1950)
Henry F. Grady (1950–1951)
Loy W. Henderson (1951–1954)
Julius C. Holmes - nominated, but nomination withdrawn before approved
Selden Chapin (1955–1958)
Edward T. Wailes (1958–1961)
Julius C. Holmes (1961–1965)
Armin H. Meyer (1965–1969)
Douglas MacArthur II (1969–1972)
Joseph S. Farland (1972–1973)
Richard Helms (1973–1977)
William H. Sullivan (1977–1979)
Walter L. Cutler - nominated, but rejected by Iran
Bruce Laingen (1979–1980) - Chargé d'Affaires, seized with the embassy on November 4, 1979. He was later released.

References

United States Department of State: Background notes on Iran
This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Iran
United States Department of State: Iran

Ambassadors of the United States

Current countries

Suspended relations

Iran

Defunct countries

Other places

International organizations

AU
APEC
ASEAN
SAARC
CD
EU
ICAO
NATO
OAS
OECD
OIC
OPCW
OSCE
UN
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UNEP
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UNVIE
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Ambassadors-at-large

Ambassadors by President

Other

Women
LGBT

v t e United States Ambassadors to Iran
Minister Resident	Benjamin Winston Pratt Beale Sperry McDonald Hardy Bowen
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary	Griscom Pearson Jackson Russell Caldwell Kornfeld Philip Hart Hornibrook Merriam (chargé d'affaires) Engert (chargé d'affaires) Dreyfus
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	Morris Murray Allen Wiley Grady Henderson Chapin Wailes Holmes Meyer MacArthur Farland Helms Sullivan Laingen (chargé d'affaires)
Diplomatic relations suspended since 1979 (See: Iran hostage crisis)

v t e Iran–United States relations
Diplomatic posts	Embassy of Iran, Washington, D.C. Ambassadors of Iran to the United States Embassy of the United States, Tehran Ambassadors of the United States to Iran Interests Section of Iran in the United States Consulate-General of the United States, Tabriz Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Iran–United States Claims Tribunal Iranian Directorate Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group
Diplomacy	Persian Corridor Persian Gulf Command Nationalization of the Iranian oil industry 1953 Iranian coup d'état Abadan Crisis Timeline Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights Exercise Delawar Project Dark Gene Safari Club Island of Stability Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to George W. Bush Correspondence between Barack Obama and Ali Khamenei Phone conversation between Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Negotiations Joint Plan of Action Framework Reactions Criticism Aftermath U.S. withdrawal
Conflicts	Iran–Iraq War United States support for Iraq Bridgeton incident Iran Air Flight 655 Iran Ajr Iran–Contra affair Operation Staunch Operation Eager Glacier Operation Earnest Will Operation Prime Chance Operation Nimble Archer Operation Praying Mantis Syrian civil war Yemeni Civil War Arab–Israeli alliance against Iran Abraham Accords February 2019 Warsaw Conference Iran–Israel proxy conflict Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition International Maritime Security Construct Assassination of Qasem Soleimani reactions Thirteen revenge scenarios Donald Trump's threat for the destruction of Iranian cultural sites Operation Martyr Soleimani 2020 Camp Taji attacks
Incidents after 1979	Assassination of Paul R. Shaffer and John H. Turner Iranian Revolution Iran hostage crisis Timeline Guadeloupe Conference Operation Credible Sport Operation Eagle Claw Canadian Caper Jimmy Carter's engagement with Ruhollah Khomeini 1980 October Surprise theory Negotiations Algiers Accords America can't do a damn thing against us Beirut barracks bombings Khobar Towers bombing Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal Disappearance of Robert Levinson United States kill or capture strategy in Iraq United States raid on the Iranian Liaison Office in Erbil Kidnapping of Jalal Sharafi 2008 Naval dispute Filipino Monkey Project Cassandra Detention of American hikers United States diplomatic cables leak 2011 alleged Iran assassination plot Strait of Hormuz dispute RQ-170 incident MV Maersk Tigris 2016 Naval incident Nuclear program of Iran Timeline P5+1 Operation Merlin Charming Kitten Stuxnet Kidnapping of Hossein Alikhani Arrest of Meng Wanzhou Deportation of Iranian students at US airports May 2019 Gulf of Oman incident June 2019 Gulf of Oman incident 2019 Iranian shoot-down of American drone 2019 K-1 Air Base attack December 2019 United States airstrikes in Iraq and Syria Attack on the United States embassy in Baghdad 2020 Iran explosions 2021 Erbil rocket attacks 2021 Natanz incident February 2021 United States airstrike in Syria Leaked Mohammad Javad Zarif audiotape June 2021 United States airstrike in Syria July 2021 Gulf of Oman incident August 2021 Gulf of Oman incident 2021 U.S.–Iran naval incident 2022 Erbil missile attacks 2023 Northeastern Syria clashes Seizure of Suez Rajan and St Nikolas Attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria (2023–present) 2024 Erbil attack Tower 22 drone attack
Legislation	United States sanctions against Iran Maximum pressure campaign Executive Order 12170 Executive Order 12172 Executive Order 13769 reactions Trump travel ban Executive Order 13780 Executive Order 13876 Iran and Libya Sanctions Act Iran Nonproliferation Act Iran, North Korea, Syria Nonproliferation Act Iran Freedom and Support Act Iran Sanctions Enhancement Act Kyl–Lieberman Amendment Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act Public Law 113-100 Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act Dames & Moore v. Regan United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran Oil Platforms case United States v. Banki Bank Markazi v. Peterson Certain Iranian Assets Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran Alleged violations of Treaty of Amity
Groups and individuals	Iran Action Group Iran–America Society Iranian Students Association in the United States National Iranian American Council Organization of Iranian American Communities Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans United Against Nuclear Iran Farashgard Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Jundallah Kingdom Assembly of Iran National Council of Iran National Council of Resistance of Iran People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran Elliott Abrams Howard Baskerville William J. Fallon Brian Hook Joseph Macmanus Robert Malley Stephen D. Mull Jon Pattis Erwin David Rabhan Jason Rezaian Scott Ritter Craig Wadsworth Michael R. White Roxana Saberi Saeed Abedini Saeid Aboutaleb Shahram Amiri Sirous Asgari Mahmoud Reza Banki Haleh Esfandiari Amir Mirza Hekmati Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil Shahrzad Mirgholikhan Mohammad Hosseini Esha Momeni Mohammad Mosaddegh Baquer Namazi Siamak Namazi Sahar Nowrouzzadeh Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran Noor Pahlavi Trita Parsi Maryam Rajavi Abdolreza Shahlaei Ali Shakeri Masoud Soleimani Morad Tahbaz Kian Tajbakhsh Karan Vafadari Xiyue Wang Nizar Zakka Iranian Guantanamo Bay detainees Abdul Majid Muhammed
Related	1998 FIFA World Cup match Academic relations between Iran and the United States American Islam Anti-American sentiment in Iran Axis of evil CIA activities in Iran Copyright relations Death to America Dual containment Great Satan International Conference on Hollywoodism Iran and state-sponsored terrorism Iranian frozen assets Opposition to military action against Iran State Sponsor of Terrorism United States involvement in regime change United States and state-sponsored terrorism 650 Fifth Avenue Alavi Foundation Alborz High School American Institute of Iranian Studies American School of Isfahan Community School, Tehran Damavand College Iran Bethel School Iranzamin School Saint Peter Church, Tehran Tehran American School "Bomb Iran" Overthrow Not for the Faint of Heart
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