US expels two members of Iran's UN General Assembly delegation
In short
United States officials said two members of Iran's delegation to the United Nations General Assembly were expelled from the country on October 3, after Washington had told the whole delegation to leave days earlier. The US had asked all delegation members to leave on September 28 and repeated the demand to Iran's UN mission on October 2, saying it knew the two diplomats were still in New York. The documents give no Iranian response.
Read the full story 1 min read
United States officials said two members of Iran's delegation to the United Nations General Assembly were expelled from the country on October 3, after they had been asked to leave several days earlier. According to the accounts, the official said that “long after the General Assembly ended, two members of the Iranian delegation were still in New York. They have now been expelled.” Yicai, CLS, Jiemian and Xinhua all reported the same core fact; Xinhua attributed it to US media reports. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
The reports say Washington asked on September 28 for all members of the Iranian delegation attending the General Assembly to leave the United States. On October 2, Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations was told the US knew the two diplomats were still in New York and was again asked to have them leave immediately. Earlier reports cited in the same accounts said that, after negotiations between the US and Iranian delegations reached a stalemate, US Secretary of State Rubio asked the delegation led by Iran's foreign minister to leave the United States immediately on September 28. [ 2 , 3 ]
Jiemian's account, which it attributed to CCTV News, set out the sequence of dates in the most detail, while Yicai and Xinhua carried the fact in their headlines only and CLS published a short item. The documents contain no comment from Iranian authorities, no explanation of why the two delegation members remained in New York, and no statement from the United States government beyond the unnamed official's remarks. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Why it matters
The expulsions follow a stalemate in talks between the US and Iranian delegations at the General Assembly, according to earlier reports cited by the outlets, and mark a further deterioration in US-Iran relations. Because the United Nations is hosted in New York, the treatment of delegations touches on host-country arrangements, though the documents do not discuss those rules.
Key facts
- United States officials said two members of Iran's delegation to the UN General Assembly were expelled from the United States on October 3. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- An unnamed US official said the two had remained in New York “long after” the General Assembly ended. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The United States asked all members of the Iranian delegation attending the General Assembly to leave the country on September 28. [ 2 , 3 ]
- On October 2, Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations was told the US knew the two diplomats were still in New York and was again asked to have them leave immediately. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Earlier reports cited by the outlets said US Secretary of State Rubio asked the delegation led by Iran's foreign minister to leave the United States immediately on September 28, after negotiations between the two delegations stalled. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Jiemian attributed its report to CCTV News, and Xinhua attributed its headline to US media. [ 3 , 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- US officials said two members of Iran's delegation to the UN General Assembly were expelled from the United States on October 3. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The United States asked all members of Iran's delegation attending the UN General Assembly to leave the country on September 28. [ 2 , 3 ]
- On October 2, Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations was told the US knew the two diplomats were still in New York and was again asked to have them leave immediately. [ 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the two Iranians were formally deported or left under another arrangement is not explained; the sources place the word “expelled” in quotation marks. The documents rely on unnamed US officials and do not describe any legal process or the terms of the departure.
- Why the two delegation members were still in New York after the rest of the delegation was asked to leave is not stated. No document explains the reason; they say only that the US knew the two were still in the city.
- No response from the Iranian government or from Iran's UN mission appears in the documents. Coverage rests on US-side accounts and Chinese media reports of them, with no comment from Tehran cited.
- The United States government has not been cited making an on-the-record statement about the expulsions. Accounts are attributed to an unnamed US official and to earlier reports, so the official US position is not documented.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The United States asks all members of Iran's delegation attending the UN General Assembly to leave the country; Secretary of State Rubio asks the delegation led by Iran's foreign minister to leave immediately after talks between the two delegations stall, according to earlier reports. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations is told the US knows two diplomats are still in New York and is again asked to have them leave immediately. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Two members of the Iranian delegation are expelled, a US official says. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Yicai publishes its report. [ 1 ]
- CLS publishes its report. [ 2 ]
- Jiemian publishes its report, attributed to CCTV News. [ 3 ]
- Xinhua publishes its headline, attributed to US media. [ 4 ]