STRAINED RELATIONS

Report: U.S. Denied 20 Iranian Visas

For government officials to attend U.N. Assembly

Adding strain to an already tense relationship, the United States has reportedly denied visas to 20 Iranian government officials planning to attend next week’s U.N. General Assembly in New York, says Iranian news agency Fars. Although Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be attendance, two members of his personnel—one in charge of communications and the other political affairs—are among the banned. No reason has been provided for the rejections, and the U.S. State Department has yet to comment on the matter. Due to Iran’s nuclear program—a plan on which Israel’s prime minister has begged Obama to draw a “red line”—many Iranian officials could be subject to travel bans.