Visiting USA as EU citizen after traveling to Iran but not having been to Iran yet

[Cerberus]

Hello,

As a EU citizen I can normally travel to the US under the visa waiver program, with an ESTA application.
However, one exception is if you have traveled to Iran in the past 5 years.
I have not been to Iran yet, but I'm traveling there later this year. And my trip after that will be to the US.

According to the rules, I need to apply for a visa. However, when filling in the DS-160 form they ask me which countries I traveled to the past 5 years. I can not fill in Iran, as I haven't actually been yet.
And nowhere on this DS-160 form, nor on the form to submit my application to my embassy, I can write extra comments, so I can't actually mention I will travel to Iran (so they know why I'm applying for a visa instead of doing the ESTA, and grant/deny visa based on the knowledge I will have traveled to Iran)
And apparently it's not a guarantee I have to go for an interview, it says on the website of the embassy.

What do I do? Waiting to apply until after I'm back from Iran is not convenient because it can already take weeks before the process is done and in the meantime I have friends that bought plane tickets and other expenses but I can't yet because I want to be sure I'll be granted a visa first.
Calling the embassy also looks like it's not an option as their website clearly says they don't answer questions about the visa process.

Thanks

[inadmissible]

Apply for the B visa, explain your situation at the interview. It is okay that the DS-160 doesn't reveal why you aren't filing ESTA instead

[Cerberus]

Apply for the B visa, explain your situation at the interview. It is okay that the DS-160 doesn't reveal why you aren't filing ESTA instead

Thank you for your reply.
I hope they will ask me for an interview then, because it says based on some criteria the interview part might be skipped. And nothing from my DS160 stands out.

Suppose they just grant my visa without interview, have I done everything correctly then?
If I travel to the US and present my visa there (which was granted without them knowing I'll travel to Iran), will that be OK even though my Iranian visa stamp on my passport and the form I fill in on the airplane before entry will be the first indication for them I've been there ?

Thanks

[inadmissible]

Regardless if you possess a B visa or ESTA TA, regardless of your travel history, no non-citizen applying for admission to the United States can have any certainty in advance of whether they will be granted application. It is completely at the discretion of the border agent at the port of entry.

[Cerberus]

Regardless if you possess a B visa or ESTA TA, regardless of your travel history, no non-citizen applying for admission to the United States can have any certainty in advance of whether they will be granted application. It is completely at the discretion of the border agent at the port of entry.

I realize that, but knowing you have taken every step correctly assures you have the most chance I guess.

Anyway, got granted my visa today, so you were correct that I could apply before going and explain my situation at the interview. The interviewer even said it was smart of me to have done it this way.