VIOLATION

Trump Admin. Blocks Iran’s Top Diplomat From Entering U.S. To Address United Nations

The diplomat was reportedly prepared to address the U.N.’s Security Council on Thursday and condemn the Trump-ordered killing of Iran’s top general.

The Trump administration is denying Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif a visa to travel to New York ahead of the United Nations Security Council meeting on Thursday, Reuters reports. According to Foreign Policy, Zarif was prepared to condemn the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani at the U.N. meeting, and the Iranian government was anticipating the approval of Zarif’s visa. However, a Trump official reportedly called U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and said Zarif would be barred from visiting the U.S. The magazine reported that the move violated the terms of a 1947 headquarters agreement which requires Washington to allow foreign officials into the country to carry out U.N. business. Ex-U.N. assistant secretary general Larry Johnson told Foreign Policy the agreement's terms would make the U.S. “obligated to let him in.”