US grants Iran delegation visas to attend UN assembly

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Masoud Pezeshkian, President of Iran

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The United States is allowing an Iranian delegation to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week, a State Department spokesman said Thursday, despite a war that has entered its seventh month.

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A source familiar with the matter confirmed this would cover Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

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“Consistent with our host country obligations, the core delegation from the Iranian regime will be able to attend UN General Assembly High Level Week,” the State Department spokesman said.

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But the official added that the delegation will be smaller than last year. It will also face travel restrictions and prohibitions on purchases of luxury goods and other products.

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US and Israeli strikes targeting Iran from late February sparked a war that has spread across the Middle East.

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Tehran retaliated with a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for energy transit, sending global oil prices soaring.

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There has been a fresh upsurge in fighting between the United States and Iran in recent weeks, while shipping remains restricted in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab Strait off Yemen, where Houthi rebels have seized control.

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The US move however comes as Washington denied Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas an entry visa for the UN General Assembly, a source confirmed Wednesday, marking the second straight year the United States has done so.

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The step taken by President Donald Trump’s administration last year forced the Palestinian leader, a regular at the UN General Assembly, to address the body of global leaders by video.

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In a statement that did not mention Abbas by name, the State Department said it would deny visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and officials with the Palestinian Authority.

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This was due to “their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace,” the statement said.

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AFP

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