The US is expected to announce in the next month plans to establish a diplomatic presence in Iran for the first time in 30 years.
The Guardian newspaper is reporting that the administration of President George W Bush plans to establish an interests section staffed with diplomats similar to its outpost in Cuba.
The White House and the US State Department declined to comment.
But a State Department official acknowledged last month that US officials have discussed the possibility of opening an interests section in Tehran.
It comes after the Bush administration announced yesterday that its number three diplomat, Under Secretary of State William Burns, would attend international nuclear talks with Iran on Saturday.
It is the highest-ranking meeting between the two countries in three decades.
Iran and the US have not had diplomatic relations since 1980 after Islamist students stormed the US mission in Tehran holding diplomats hostage for more than a year.
