US denies Iran's Foreign Minister a visa to attend UN Security Council

11:04, 07.01.2020

The United States has denied a visa to Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that would have allowed him to attend a UN Security Council meeting in New York on Thursday, a US official said, as reported by Al Jazeeera.

Monday’s comments by the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, came as tensions escalate between the two countries after the US killed Iran’s most prominent military commander, Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad on Friday.

Under the 1947 UN “headquarters agreement,” the US is generally required to allow access to the UN for foreign diplomats. But Washington says it can deny visas for “security, terrorism and foreign policy” reasons. The US State Department declined to comment immediately.

Iran’s mission to the UN said: “We have seen the media reports, but we have not received any official communication from either the US or the UN regarding Foreign Minister Zarif’s visa.” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric declined to comment on the apparent visa denial.

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Javad Zarif

UN Security Council

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