No interests section for you!

David Ignatius: The Bush administration once planned to announce the opening of an interests section in Tehran this month. That won’t happen now, and the story illustrates the broken connection that is the U.S.-Iranian relationship. An announcement set for September was delayed because of the Russian invasion of Georgia. But the proposal was back on ...

David Ignatius:

The Bush administration once planned to announce the opening of an interests section in Tehran this month. That won’t happen now, and the story illustrates the broken connection that is the U.S.-Iranian relationship.

An announcement set for September was delayed because of the Russian invasion of Georgia. But the proposal was back on track until a few weeks ago, when the administration became concerned about Iranian interference in negotiations with Iraq over a status-of-forces agreement. It seemed the wrong time for an opening to Tehran that Sunni Arab allies warned would be seen as a concession.

So now the issue of U.S.-Iranian relations will be handed over to the Obama administration. “We ran out of time,” says one administration official. It’s the most frustrating and dangerous bit of unfinished business the new administration will inherit.

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