Earlier in the day, a US official told the media that the State Department had “kicked out” Iran’s UNGA delegation, several days after they were asked to leave the country.
All Iranian diplomats left the United Nations General Assembly held in New York as per schedule, Tehran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, refuting US claims that the country’s UN representatives had been “kicked out”.
“All Iranian diplomats who attended UNGA, except one who departed earlier, left as scheduled,” Araghchi said in a post on X on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, a US official told the media that the State Department had “kicked out” Iran’s UNGA delegation, several days after they were asked to leave the country.
Shutting down the claims, Araghchi said the statement “oozes of desperation and defeat, and is inconsistent with UN host nation obligations.” He posted the screenshot of a news article reporting on the supposed incident.
“Taking pride in fake diplomat “expulsion” is inappropriate for the head of any diplomatic corps,” Araghchi, who is also one of Iran’s top diplomats in its negotiations linked to the US war, said.
The US official, talking to news agency AFP, had said Secretary of State Marco Rubio “means business.”
“Two more members of the Iranian delegation were found still in (New York) long after the United Nations General Assembly had passed. They have now been kicked out of the US,” the official had said.
The US claims and Iran’s subsequent counter is the latest flashpoint between the two countries, whose diplomatic talks to end the February 28 war have faltered time and again. Recently, US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s seven conditions to open the Strait of Hormuz – the key waterway that has remained a chokepoint during the conflict.
