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Embassy of Israel, Tehran

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(Redirected from Israel Ambassador to Iran)
Embassy of Israel in
Tehran,  Iran
שגרירות מדינת ישראל טהראן
LocationImperial State of Iran
AddressTehran
Opening1948
Closed18 February 1979
AmbassadorYossef Harmelin

Israel's political representation in Iran, also referred to as the Embassy of Israel in Tehran (Hebrew: שגרירות מדינת ישראל טהראן‎), was a large three-story building on Kakh Boulevard (now Palestine Street) in the capital of Iran, that was owned by the Israeli diplomatic mission.[1] This agency was trying to strengthen the relations between Iran and Israel. Embassy of Israel in Tehran, was the diplomatic mission of Israel in Iran when Iran and Israel had diplomatic relations from 1948 to 1979, the year of the Iranian revolution.[2][3]

This agency was active in Tehran since 1960 and until a few days before February 11, 1979, but after the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty and the victory of the Iranian revolution, it was attacked by the revolutionaries and was handed over to Palestinian guerillas who were members of the Palestine Liberation Organization by installing the Palestinian flag.[4] Following the visit of Yasser Arafat, the leader of the Fatah movement, to Tehran on February 17, 1979, that is, exactly 6 days after the victory of the Iranian revolution, the sign "Embassy of Palestine" was installed on top of the political representation of Israel, and two days later, on February 19, Yasser Arafat along with Ahmad Khomeini and Ebrahim Yazdi, attended the former Israeli embassy and opened the Palestinian embassy in Tehran.[5] Also, the names of Kakh Street and Kakh Square were changed to Palestine Street and Palestine Square, respectively.

History

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During the reign of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Iran became the second Muslim country after Turkey to recognize Israel.[6] But after the Iranian Islamic revolution of 1979, the Israel embassy in Iran was closed. After that, Iran never recognized Israel.[7][8]

Zvi Duriel was the first ambassador of Israel's political representation in Iran.[9][10] During the 5-year embassy of Israel's plenipotentiary representative in Tehran, with ambassador Uri Lubrani between 1974 and 1979, many israeli officials visited Iran many times, such as Yitzhak Rabin, Yigal Allon, Moshe Dayan and Shimon Peres.[11] Yossef Harmelin, the former head of Israel's internal security agency (Shin Bet), was the last plenipotentiary representative of Israel in Tehran, whose term as ambassador in Tehran ended with the victory of the Iranian Islamic revolution of 1979.[12] Finally, on February 18 1979, the Israeli ambassador, Yossef Harmelin, and the embassy staff fled the country.[13]

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) backed the 1979 Iranian revolution, and several days after the revolution, PLO chief Yasser Arafat led a Palestinian delegation to Iran. The Palestinian delegates were publicly welcomed, and symbolically handed the keys to the former Israeli embassy in Tehran, which later became a Palestinian embassy.[14] Hani al-Hassan, one of the key diplomatic figures of the PLO, was appointed as the first ambassador of Palestine to Iran.[15]

Cultural relations

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Before the 1979 revolution in Iran, the two countries of Iran and Israel had close but informal relations with each other, which went beyond economic and commercial relations. According to the archives of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during that period, more than 500 Israeli families lived in Iran, and Israeli students which living in Tehran, went to a Hebrew language school under the supervision of the Israeli Ministry of Education, which was managed by the Israeli political representation in Tehran.[16]

In 1962, Jalal Al-e-Ahmad, a famous Iranian author, traveled to Israel for two weeks and published a travelogue of his experience.[17] The expenses of this trip were covered by the political representation of Israel in Tehran.[18]

List of ambassadors

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From 1948 to 1979, when the Israeli embassy was operating in Iran, the following people were appointed as ambassadors:[19][20][21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ایران و اسرائیل؛ چگونه دو کشور متحد به دشمنان قسم‌خورده تبدیل شدند؟" [Iran and Israel; How did two allied countries become sworn enemies?] (in Persian). 16 April 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Iran Primer: Iran and Israel" [ایران پرایمر: ایران و اسرائیل]. PBS. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Did Israel, under the shah, help start Iran's nuclear program?" [آیا اسرائیل در زمان شاه به شروع برنامه هسته‌ای ایران کمک کرد؟]. The Times of Israel. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  4. ^ "سفارت اسرائیل در ایران چگونه به فلسطین رسید" [How did the Israeli embassy in Iran reach Palestine?] (in Persian). Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  5. ^ "اولین مهمان خارجی ایران پس از پیروزی انقلاب اسلامی که بود؟" [Who was the first foreign guest of Iran after the victory of the Islamic Revolution?] (in Persian). 6 February 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  6. ^ "From Friends to Foes: How Israel and Iran Turned Into Arch-enemies" [از دوستان تا دشمنان: چگونه اسرائیل و ایران به دشمنان سرسخت تبدیل شدند]. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  7. ^ "چه شد که ایران و اسرائیل تا این حد با هم دشمن شدند؟" [What happened that Iran and Israel became enemies to such an extent?] (in Persian). 18 April 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  8. ^ "غیر از ایران کدام کشورها اسرائیل را به رسمیت نمی‌شناسند؟" [Other than Iran, which countries do not recognize Israel?] (in Persian). Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  9. ^ "تاریخچه نمایندگی اسرائیل در تهران" [The history of the Israeli representation in Tehran] (in Persian). Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  10. ^ آرین, حسین (9 May 2008). "اسرائیل شصت ساله و رابطه با ایران" [Sixty years of Israel and the relationship with Iran]. رادیو فردا (in Persian). Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  11. ^ Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin (1987). The Israeli Connection: Whom Israel Arms and why [ارتباط اسرائیل: اسرائیل چه کسانی را مسلح می‌کند و چرا] (in Persian). Pantheon Books. p. 10. ISBN 1-85043-069-1.
  12. ^ "مختصری از سیر روابط رژیم شاه با اسراییل" [A brief history of relations between the Shah's regime and Israel] (in Persian). Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  13. ^ "The unwritten history of Israel's alliance with the Shah's dictatorship" [تاریخ نانوشته اتحاد اسرائیل با دیکتاتوری شاه]. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Iran and the Palestinians" [ایران و فلسطینی‌ها]. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Hani Al- Hassan (1938- 2012)" [هانی الحسن (۱۹۳۸-۲۰۱۲)] (in Persian). Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Building, a Relationship: Israeli Architects Once Thrived in Iran" [ساختن، یک رابطه: معماران اسرائیلی زمانی در ایران رشد می‌کردند] (in Persian). Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  17. ^ عابدی, احسان (12 September 2016). "سفرنامه جلال آل احمد؛ یک مواجهه ایرانی-اسرائیلی پس از نیم قرن" [Jalal Al Ahmad's travelogue; An Iranian-Israeli confrontation after half a century]. رادیو فردا (in Persian). Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Episode 45: An Iranian Intellectual Visits Israel" [قسمت ۴۵: یک روشنفکر ایرانی از اسرائیل بازدید می‌کند]. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  19. ^ "خاطرات سفیر اسرائیل در ایران: دو خواننده معروفی که از ایران به اسرائیل بردم" [Memories of the Israeli Ambassador to Iran: Two famous singers I took from Iran to Israel] (in Persian). Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  20. ^ "ماجرای عجیب نخستین سفیر اسرائیل در ایران" [The strange story of Israel's first ambassador to Iran] (in Persian). Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  21. ^ "فعالیت‌های سفیر اسرائیل در ایران" [The activities of the Israeli ambassador in Iran] (in Persian). Retrieved 13 November 2024.
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