US Grants Visas to Iranian Delegation Amid Tensions

7:03 AM ETDeveloping

World Desk

In Short: The US State Department has allowed Iranian officials to attend the UN General Assembly, despite ongoing tensions.

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The US State Department has granted visas to Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, for the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York.

According to a State Department spokesperson, the decision is consistent with host country obligations but comes with travel restrictions to prevent the Iranian delegation from purchasing luxury goods.

U.S. Central Command Public Affairs / U.S. Central Command Public Affairs / DVIDS (260908-D-D0477-1844) — public domain dvidshub.net

The move follows recent military actions by the US, which struck five Iranian tankers linked to the IRGC in response to attempted attacks on an American warship.

Despite the visa approval, the Trump administration will continue to block Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas from attending the General Assembly.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott stated on social media, 'We will not let the Iranian regime’s elites exploit UNGA for a luxury retail splurge paid for by the Iranian people’s suffering, all while the regime funnels Iran’s wealth to support its terrorist proxies.

What's confirmed

The Iranian delegation cleared by the U.S. will be smaller than the one the country sent last year, the State Department said.

What's still developing

“I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not. It’s a big decision. Anything could happen with me,” Trump told Axios.
The U.S. has historically restricted the Iranian delegation’s travel during its visits to New York, but beginning in 2025 the Trump administration began blocking the officials’ access even to wholesale and luxury stores, confining their movements to “areas strictly necessary to transit to and from the U.N. headquarters district to conduct their official U.N. business,” according to the State Department.
Last month, an Iranian presidential protocol official said Tehran was still assessing the level and size of its attendance at the General Assembly this year, calling the conditions imposed by the U.S. illegal, without elaborating on the complaint.
The general debate of the General Assembly, the part of the meeting where world leaders will give speeches, will begin on Tuesday when Trump is expected to speak.
That decision is an extension of sanctions that deny the necessary visas to officials from the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization to attend the annual meeting of global leaders, according to the source.
A key development has taken place in the ongoing war between the United States and Iran.
Even as tensions in West Asia have reached a peak, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s planned visit to the United States has become a sensation.
Amid the war, Pezeshkian and other key Iranian leaders have prepared to travel to the US, with Washington approving visas for these leaders — a development already confirmed by the US State Department.

Sources

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