State hands former hostage Iran post

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department appointed former Iranian embassy hostage John Limbert as its top-ranking diplomat for Iranian affairs.

Limbert, a veteran diplomat, was appointed as the deputy assistant secretary for Iran in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, officials at the State Department told Politico.

Limbert will be the most senior diplomat dealing with Iran in more than 20 years.

Limbert will answer to Jeffrey Feltman, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. The State Department has not had a high-ranking official on Iran since Dennis Ross became a special adviser in Iran in June.

Ross had served in a similar position for U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Limbert was part of the staff at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran when it was overrun by Iranian students during the Islamic Revolution in 1979. He was held hostage along with his colleagues for 444 days.

He is one of the few diplomats to have served in Iran who speaks Farsi.

Accounts of the appointment on Iran's state-funded broadcaster Press TV include similar reports on Limbert, but point to statements from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei saying Washington has not reversed course on Iran despite the latest moves.

"We haven't seen any change," the ruling cleric said.