The Foreign Service Journal, March 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2015 25 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, set back progress substantially, from which Iran has yet to recover. Throughout this time, I made clear in all my reporting toWashington that my access to Iranian society was extremely limited, so I could not document public opinion in Iran in any scientific way. More Eyes Acknowledging that our Iran interests merited greater resources, in 2006 the State Department announced a broader Iran Watcher program. In addition to the new Iran Regional Presence Office in Dubai, Iran watcher positions were created elsewhere in the region and Europe to engage both Iranians and third-country nationals, including host governments, on Iran. Besides improving our understanding of the country, there was a second goal: to develop a new cadre of Iran experts and Farsi speakers to prepare for the day when we would reopen our embassy in Tehran. There are fewU.S. diplomats left in the Foreign Service who have ever visited Iran, let alone served there. In that regard, Iran has an advantage over us; its United Nations mission in New York serves as a de facto embassy and gives some Iranian officials direct U.S. experience, even if they are limited in their abil- ity to travel outside of the New York City area. Over time, the Near East Bureau's Office of Iranian Affairs has moved some Iran watcher positions frompost to post, in search of the places with the maximumbenefit. Administratively, these positions are challenging for State’s bureaucracy, as many require cross-regional bureau coordination, with officers sometimes having two chains of command. NEA oversees the program; IRPO does not manage watchers in locations outside Dubai. While there are many challenges, including dealing with host- country sensitivities to Iran-related work, overall, the program should be considered a success. While it is difficult to prove, I believe that over time, Iran watcher assessments have success- fully challenged the faulty conventional wisdom about Iran that had been circulating inWashington since the 9/11 attacks. The watchers were also able to compile more accurate assessments of economic and human rights conditions, compensating for the unreliable data put out by the Iranian government. As a result, our policies came to demonstrate a more sophisticated understanding of Iran, including where our two nations’ interests intersect and where they diverge. More Than Reporters Just like diplomats at any post, Iran watchers do not just report on developments and trends. They also advocate U.S. policy. Although they do not directly communicate with Iranian officials,