Will Iran’s foreign minister be permitted to travel to New York this week, just days after Tehran launched an attack against Israel? It’s revealing that the question must be asked — and even more so that the answer is probably yes.
Amwaj Media reported last week that Hosein Amir-Abdollahian — Iran’s foreign hardline foreign minister and a veteran of the IRGC — and his delegation have already received visas from the State Department to enter New York for a U.N. Security Council meeting that will take place this Thursday.
Under the treaty that governs access to the U.N.’s headquarters, the U.S. government has admitted numerous unsavory figures before. This includes Abdollahian, who has entered the U.S. several times previously for meetings at Turtle Bay — including two visits that took place after the October 7 massacre, which Iran backed through its support of Hamas and, possibly, by playing a direct coordinating role.
Iran’s direct attack on Israel over the weekend is another compelling reason to deny Abdollahian a visa. While the vast majority of the drones and cruise missiles were intercepted or failed to launch, White House national-security communications adviser John Kirby said today that “Iran’s intent was clearly to cause significant destruction and casualties.”
Abdollahian will almost certainly derive significant propaganda value from his trip. He and other Iranian officials turn their New York visits into media tours. Even the wife of Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi took the occasion of her visit last year to deliver ridiculous talking points that deflected from Tehran’s brutality against women.
If State does not opt to reverse its reported decision to grant Abdollahian a visa, it will likely cite the U.N. headquarters agreement, which obligates the U.S. to admit foreign officials traveling to New York for U.N. meetings. But as the United Against a Nuclear Iran watchdog group and others have pointed out, the U.S. can deny a visa for “security, terrorism, and foreign policy” reasons. It cited this provision to bar then–foreign minister Javad Zarif from entering the U.S. in 2020 as Iran plotted its response to the killing of IRGC general Qassem Soleimani.
As UANI points out, the current situation resembles the circumstances under which State blocked Zarif’s trip four years ago. Ahead of the attack on Saturday night, top Iranian commanders threatened to retaliate against U.S. bases if it supported any Israeli retaliation plans. And Abdollahian used his first U.N. visit after October 7 to threaten America for its support of Israel; addressing the body on October 26, he said that the U.S. will “not be spared from this fire” if Israel’s operations in Gaza continue. If Abdollahian doesn’t meet the exemptions to the U.N. headquarters agreement under the current circumstances, then no one can. The State Department is not compelled to admit him to the U.S. this week. If he arrives in New York, State has chosen to let him in.