Iran’s foreign ministry summoned on Wednesday the Swiss ambassador over recent remarks by Donald Trump. But why is Switzerland “responsible” for clarifying the US president’s comments?
The simple answer is that the United States and Iran don’t maintain diplomatic relations, so they don’t communicate directly.
The formerly friendly ties between the two nations were cut following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, when the pro-Western Shah was exiled and the Islamic rulers took his place.
During the uprising, the US embassy in Teheran was seized and closed, and ties between the two countries have been strained since then.
What happened next?
This is where Switzerland came in.
According to the Swiss foreign ministry, “as a neutral country, Switzerland has been entrusted with various protecting power mandates in relation to Iran, including representing the interests of the United States.”
Though it may seem like thankless task at times, in situations like these, Bern has the responsibility of seeking the official US response to Iran’s query, and then communicate it back to the government in Iran.
Mostly, however, Switzerland’s role in Iran is of administrative nature — it includes handling all US consular affairs, such as passport applications and protection of US citizens.
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A long history
This is not the only time Switzerland has been called upon to be a ‘middleman’ between quarrelling states.
For instance, for more than 50 years, Bern had represented the United States in Cuba, and vice versa, after relations broke off between the two in 1961.
When the then-president Barack Obama re-established diplomacy with Cuba in 2015 and Bern was, for all intents and purposes, out of a job there, its role was not forgotten: the staff of the newly opened US embassy hang a huge banner saying ‘Thank you, Switzerland’.
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in these instances, Switzerland has acted as a go-between between these ‘at-conflict’ nations:
- Iran and Egypt
- Iran and Canada
- Russia and Georgia
- Ecuador and Mexico
- Ecuador and Venezuela
You can read more about Switzerland’s role as a protective power, here.
