Teheran refuses to let in US NGO

Iran will refuse any request by US-based non-governmental organization American-Iranian Council (AIC) to open an office in the Islamic Republic, the interior minister said in comments published yesterday.

In a rare move, the United States this month said the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control had granted permission to New Jersey-based AIC to operate in Iran.

A US official said the decision to allow the NGO to go to Iran was "carefully reviewed" within the US government, which cut ties with Iran after its 1979 Islamic revolution and is now embroiled in a standoff with Teheran over its nuclear program.