(Photo Credit: by Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times) This 8,718 square-foot, 17-room   mansion located in the posh Presidio Heights section of San Francisco is the former Iranian Consulate. 

By Gary Raynaldo       DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

SAN FRANCISCO    –   Bruce and Alexandra Owen have lived in a 17-room mansion in the wealthy Presidio Heights section of San Francisco that was once the former Iranian Consulate since 1984.  In 1980, the U.S. State Department tossed the Iranian government out of the 8,718-square-foot home, which had occupied it since 1969, and placed the residence on the rental market. Alexandra and her husband Bruce Owen moved into the mansion in 1984.  However,  the stucco and wood frame single family- residence built in 1927,  is still technically owed by the Republic of Iran which purchased it in 1969.  The property has been in the custody of the Department of State since the break in diplomatic relations in 1980.  So now,  comes the Department of State  with a lawsuit seeking to evict the elderly couple from the residence. The US government is going after the Owens  via the Ellis Act.  In its lawsuit filed July 17, 2019 (United States Department of State v. Bruce Owen and Alexandra Owen / US District Court Northern District of California Southern Division: Case 4:19-cv-04094 (DMR), the US government maintains that the State Department’s Office of Foreign Missions (OFM) is the custodian of the property pursuant to the Foreign Missions Act, 22 U.S.C. · § § 4301-4316; the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations; and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.  So, what happen is the US government is pulling the mansion off the rental market via the Ellis Act.  According to the US  lawsuit,  the Owens, who pay $5,523.19 per month in rent, are refusing to move.  Per the lawsuit, in June 2018, a senior officer at OFM inspected the property with Mr. Owen.

“At the time of the inspection, the former consular residence contained multiple rooms set up as separate office spaces and a large area set aside for commercial items.  It did not appear to be used as a residence, according to the lawsuit. Following the inspection, OFM decided to move the property from the San Francisco rental market. at that time, OFM expected that the 1927 residence would need significant maintenance and repair, the cost of which would exceed the rental income from the property.”

-United States Department of State v. Bruce Owen and Alexandra Owen lawsuit  excerpt 

Government Of  IRAN   Purchased  San Francisco Mansion in 1969

(Credit: by Gary Raynaldo / ©Diplomatic Times) The 17-room stucco and wood-frame residence in San Francisco was built in 1927 and purchased by the Government of Iran in 1969.

The US says the cost of expected maintenance and repair of the Washington Street property is estimated at $5 Million, which is significantly in excess of available rental receipts.  As such, OFM intents to remove the property off the market and mothball it  for long-term storage.  In 2011, the OFM made a similar decision for the property located at 3005 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC – the former IRANIAN EMBASSY.  According to the lawsuit, because the Iranian Embassy property in DC faced an estimated total cost of needed repairs to be $10 million to $15 million, OFM decided to mothball diplomatic compound, and it remains in such state today.  Per the lawsuit, in California, the withdrawal of private residential units from the rental market is governed by the ELLIS ACT, which require municipalities to allow property owners to leave the residential housing business. 

U.S. – IRAN  Diplomatic Relations Severed In 1980

Credit:  https://www.britannica.com /    Blindfolded American hostage with his Iranian captors outside the U.S. embassy in Tehrān, November 9, 1979.

The United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran on April 7, 1980. This action was taken following the seizure by student militants of the American Embassy in Tehran and its staff on November 4, 1979, and the subsequent failure of the Iranian government to secure their release. The hostages eventually were released on January 20, 1981; however, diplomatic relations remain severed and Switzerland currently serves as the protecting power for U.S. interests in Iran.  Due to severing of diplomatic relations,  Iran’s properties in the United States remain in limbo, with little legal prospect of the Iranian government selling them without an official diplomatic agreement with the United States.

Credit: Wikipedia Commons / Mardetanha  /   Former Iranian embassy at Washington D.C. The US State Department is the current custodian of the building, which was built in 1959. The property is one of 11 properties, including the former San Francisco Iran Consulate, owned by the Government of Iran under the custody and control of OFM. 

(Credit: by Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times ) The US plans to mothball the 8,718 square-foot former Iranian Consulate in San Francisco.

The couple was served an Eviction Notice.  However, the Owens refused to move out of the property before the June 19, 2019, withdrawal date, according to the lawsuit. 

“Defendants continue unlawfully in possession of the property, and they are guilty of unlawful detainer.”

-David L. Anderson, United States Attorney  /   Robin M. Wall, Assistant United States Attorney  state in complaint

Bruce and Alexandra Owens ( Instagram / photo, left and right)

Meanwhile, Bruce and Alexandra Owens have yet to file an Answer to the US complaint.  The couple raised their children in the home.  They plan to fight the eviction.  “They have been model citizens for this city,” said Charlie Ferguson of the Presidio Heights Association of Neighbors and the Owens’ next-door neighbor, as reported by KPIX News.   “They put their money, a lot of money, into renovating this place after it was ruined.”