The Virtual Embassy Tehran, the websites launched by the U.S. government as an online engagement opportunity with the Iranian people a year ago, has so far attracted almost two million page-hits from Iranians, the State Department said in a statement marking its first anniversary.
As the Secretary noted in her welcome video last year, "this is a platform for us to communicate with each other — openly and without fear — about the United States, about our policies, our culture, and the American people" despite the Iranian regime's efforts to control the flow of information to and from the Iranian people, the statement said.
Since its launch, the sites -- http://iran.usembassy.gov/ and http://persian.iran.usembassy.gov/ -- have received almost two million page-hits from Iranians seeking information uncensored by their government, including U.S. policy, visa information, study opportunities for Iranians in the United States, and cultural highlights such as a Virtual Music Ambassador series and a "Poet's Corner" celebrating the work of Walt Whitman.
"We're delighted by the response we've received from visitors to the site and the ongoing conversations we continue to enjoy on our affiliated USAdarFarsi Facebook page (which now has over 81,000 fans) and ourTwitter, Google+, and YouTube platforms," Department deputy spokesperson Mark C. Toner said in the statement.
USAdarFarsi is active on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Every month on Facebook and Twitter, the State Department will be asking its fans for questions on a topic that are set in advance. The Department's Persian language spokesman, Alan Eyre, will then provide answers to the most popular questions in Persian in a 5-7 minute long video that will be posted on USAdarFarsi YouTube channel and then advertised both on its Facebook page and Twitter feeds.
As the Virtual Embassy Tehran enters its second year, he announced plan "to bring even more exciting and innovative content to Persian-language visitors and to promote freedom of expression, unfettered communication and access to information, and the continued exchange of ideas and opinions between the Iranian and American peoples."
Since 1979, following the storming of the U.S. mission in Tehran and the taking of U.S. diplomats as hostages at the height of the Islamic Revolution that overthrew Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the pro-U.S. king of Iran, the United States does not have an Embassy in that country.
The U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with Iran for more than three decades, and it is the Swiss Embassy in Tehran that represents U.S. government's diplomatic interests in Iran.
Tehran faces a number of sanctions by Washington over its failure to maintain transparency of its clandestine nuclear program, and defiance of international community's call to discontinue it.
"Switzerland, our Protecting Power in Tehran, has been invaluable during these last three decades in managing important Consular and humanitarian issues, but the absence of an American presence in Iran means we have little opportunity to make our voice heard to a broader Iranian audience," Washington says.
The United States accuses the Iranian government of trying - in vain - to close its society from the international flow of information and ideas by placing an "electronic curtain" around its people.
"This website is not a formal diplomatic mission, nor does it represent or describe a real U.S. Embassy accredited to the Iranian Government. But, in the absence of direct contact, it can work as a bridge between the American and Iranian people," the State Department says about "Virtual Embassy Tehran."
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.