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Published: Monday, 23 September 2019 15:14

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Photo: RHCWashington, September 23.- The United States has refused to issue visas to a number of members of a delegation accompanying Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to the UN General Assembly in New York.  

According to Parviz Esmaeili, the Iranian presidential office’s deputy chief of staff for communications, Tehran was informed of the visa denials late Sunday night.   Earlier in the day, Rouhani’s administration said that the Iranian leader planned to meet with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

“The failure to issue visas for the delegation, accompanying the president, some deputy chiefs of staff and the press pool runs counter to the diplomatic obligations officially assumed by the U.S. government as a member of the United Nations and the host country,” Esmaeili told the Iranian television.

Previously, the United States issued visas to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in order to attend a high-level meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York.  Iranian media outlets earlier reported, without providing a source, that Iran’s President and his delegation, including the foreign minister, might not attend the UN General Assembly, as they still did not have U.S. entry visas.

However, the Iranian foreign minister was finally issued a waiver that allowed him to enter the United States on Friday.  Observers say he is apparently the only Iranian diplomat who squeezed through the door before it was shut by the U.S. State Department. (RHC)