Rubio orders Iranian UN delegation to leave New York ahead of schedule

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Iran’s foreign minister and his delegation attending the U.N. General Assembly to leave New York earlier than planned, two U.S. officials said Wednesday.

The Trump administration had issued visas, though with strict restrictions, to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and their delegations to attend the annual gathering of world leaders despite tensions between the two countries.

Pezeshkian left New York a day after addressing the United Nations last week, while Araghchi stayed behind, reportedly to take part in indirect discussions with the United States on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, ending the conflict and restarting negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

Some accounts said Araghchi had planned to remain in New York until Wednesday.

But after weekend meetings involving Iranian and Qatari mediators produced little progress, Rubio told the Iranians on Monday that Araghchi and his delegation had to leave New York immediately, according to the two U.S. officials familiar with the decision.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing an internal administration process.

One of the officials said Rubio had concluded that the Iranians had “overstayed their welcome” and that, with the high-level U.N. meetings over, they should leave New York.

Araghchi and his delegation departed the city very early Tuesday.

The Iranian U.N. delegation, however, denied Wednesday that they had been ordered to leave.

“The Iranian delegation left New York on Monday evening, in accordance with the schedule that had also been communicated to the U.S. Department of State in advance on September 17,” the delegation said in a post on its official X account.

“Having achieved nothing, the State Department has resorted to propagating baseless and worthless news,” it added.

Rubio’s decision was first reported by Axios. -UNB