The US has granted visas to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and other members of the core Iranian delegation to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York.
The US State Department, however, denied visas for a high-level delegation of Palestinian officials, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, to attend the UNGA. The UNGA voted on Thursday to allow Abbas to address the body via a prerecorded statement.
The US State Department said it would extend visa sanctions against Palestinian officials over actions they took to ‘internationalise the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’, including pursuing cases against Israel at international tribunals.
In the case of Iran, although its leaders and top officials have been granted visas, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said that the delegation will be placed under travel restrictions and will be banned from purchasing certain American products.
“We will not let the Iranian regime’s elites exploit UNGA for a luxury retail splurge paid for by the Iranian people’s suffering, all while the regime funnels Iran’s wealth to support its terrorist proxies,” Pigott posted on X.
He also told New York shops to ‘be on guard’ against selling goods to the delegation.
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