Contested
Iran's foreign minister denies Iranian diplomats were expelled from the US
In short
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, denied reports that Iranian diplomats had been expelled from the United States, according to TASS and RIA Novosti. Araghchi said the Iranian delegation had travelled to the United States and returned in line with a pre-approved schedule, TASS reported. Neither report said where the statement was made or which reports it was responding to.
Why it matters
The statement concerns relations between Iran and the United States, and both accounts come from Russian state news agencies, which treated the denial as the news of the day. The documents give no further detail on what prompted the claim or how Washington responded, so the practical consequences are not established by the available material.
Key facts
- Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, denied information that Iranian diplomats were expelled from the United States. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Araghchi said the Iranian delegation travelled to the United States and returned according to a schedule approved in advance. [ 1 ]
- TASS published the denial at 10:20 local time and RIA Novosti at 11:47 local time. [ 1 , 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Where and when the foreign minister made the statement, and in what format. Neither document states the place or occasion of the statement.
- Which reports or claims the denial was responding to, and who published them. The documents say only that information about an expulsion existed; they do not identify its source.
- Why the Iranian delegation travelled to the United States. The documents refer to a pre-approved schedule but do not describe the purpose of the trip.
What local media are saying
Official sourcesBoth Russian state news agencies reported the Iranian foreign minister's denial as a straightforward statement, leading with the rejection of the expulsion claim and, in TASS, adding that the delegation's trip to the United States followed a schedule approved in advance. Neither outlet gave the venue of the statement or identified the reports being denied.
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