The embassy was designed in 1948 by the architect Ides van der Gracht, the designer of the Embassy of the United States in Ankara. It was a long, low two-story brick building, similar to American high schools built in the 1930s and 1940s. For this reason, the building was nicknamed “Henderson High” by the embassy staff, referring to Loy W. Henderson, who became America’s ambassador to Iran just after construction was completed in 1951. The US diplomatic mission has been defunct and the building has not been used by the U.S. since the Iran hostage crisis of 1979.

The former US embassy was the focal point of the 1979 revolution, when it was stormed by students who then held 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days. Today the compound is occupied by the Student Basij Organisation dedicated to defending the revolution.