The United States has refused to issue visas to members of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s delegation, including his communications team, for this week’s trip to the UN General Assembly, Iranian state media reported on Monday.
Pezeshkian is expected to become the highest-ranking Iranian official to enter the United States since the Middle East war began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
“In an unprecedented hostile move by the US government, (US President Donald) Trump has denied US visas to certain members of the president’s high-level delegation, including members of his communications team,” Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.
Mehr news agency also carried the report, citing a spokesperson for the Iranian presidency. It said Pezeshkian is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
The United States has authorised Iran’s core delegation to travel to New York for the General Assembly, but restrictions will be imposed, as they were last year. The Iranian delegation will not be allowed to purchase luxury goods or certain other items, according to the US State Department.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is part of the delegation, left Iran on Sunday evening for a stopover in Qatar.
Iran says it has conveyed its conditions to the United States through Qatar, which is acting as a mediator, for reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a major route for global oil and gas shipments. Iran has restricted shipping through the waterway since the war began, while the United States is imposing a counterblockade on Iranian ports.
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