US approves visas for top Iranian leaders to attend UN General Assembly

The United States is allowing an Iranian delegation to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City next week, a Department of State spokesman said, in spite of the protracted war that is raging into its seventh month.

A source familiar with the matter confirmed the delegation would cover Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and their essential staff to attend the High-Level Week in person.

“Consistent with our host country obligations, the core delegation from the Iranian regime will be able to attend UN General Assembly High Level Week,” the State Department spokesman said.

The US official added that only a scaled-down delegation will be permitted, and that they will confront tighter travel curbs and luxury import prohibitions “per our policy”.

The 81st UNGA will unfold against the backdrop of a grinding military impasse between the two countries, with no clear path towards reopening the Strait of Hormuz or reviving Washington-Tehran talks of ending the war.

The disruption of the vital chokepoint — which handles roughly 20 percent of global seaborne energy transit — has sent global oil prices soaring.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the conflict with Iran is nearing its end, and recently claimed his administration has held direct talks with officials in Tehran, even as fighting flares in Yemen between Houthi forces and the Saudi-led coalition over the Bab al-Mandeb strait, where Houthi forces have seized control.

Washington recently barred Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and dozens of Palestinian Authority (PA) officials from entering the US for the UNGA for the second consecutive year.  The visa denial by the Trump administration last year relegated the usually present Palestinian leader to address the global body virtually. The Palestinians will still be represented at next week’s high-level meeting of the UNGA by their diplomats who are already accredited to the UN.

Without explicitly naming President Abbas, the State Department announced a broader visa ban targeting officials from the PA and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO),  due to “their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace,” the statement said.

“Punitive measures and restrictions imposed on Palestinian officials do not contribute to advancing peace or combating violence,” the authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement in response. “Rather, they weaken the Palestinian partner committed to a political solution and encourage forces working to undermine the two-state solution and impose the reality of occupation, settlement and annexation by force.”

The UNGA will be meeting under the heavy strain of continued geopolitical crises, such as Russia’s war on Ukraine, escalating Middle East volatility and deepening economic disturbances that have triggered widespread inflation and affordability crises across the globe.