Daniel Wolfram
While the war in Iran has been going on for more than half a year, diplomacy has won out during this week’s UN assembly in New York.
The United States of America and Iran have been locked in an armed conflict since February, but now a small breakthrough in diplomacy has taken place.
The US granted visas to top Iranian officials for the UN General Assembly, according to the BBC.
The decision comes as the war between the United States and Iran reaches its seventh month, after the US and Israel began attacking Iran with airstrikes in late February.
Strict travel limits and prohibited movement
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will headline the delegation that will head to New York to attend the assembly. However, the US is keeping the Iranians on a tight leash while they are in New York.
A spokesman for the US State Department told the BBC, “Consistent with our host country obligations, the core delegation from the Iranian regime will be able to attend UN General Assembly High Level Week.”
He added that strict limits remain in place. “The delegation will be under travel restrictions and will face prohibitions on the purchase of luxury and other goods per our policy. The delegation is smaller than last year.”
Banned from retail
US officials want to prevent visiting Iranian diplomats from going on “shopping sprees” while citizens back home face “brutal repression” and “soaring inflation.”
State Department Spokesman Tommy Pigott urged New York retailers to “be on guard” and not “become complicit” in selling luxury goods to the delegation.
“We will not let the Iranian regime’s elites exploit UNGA [UN General Assembly] 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 social media.
A crowded stage
The UNGA begins on Tuesday, which will be the 81st of its kind. The General Debate, which is the highlight of the conference, will feature speeches from US President Donald Trump, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, and French President Emmanuel Macron. Iranian leaders are scheduled to speak on Wednesday.
The granting of visas by the US is seen as a minor, but potentially huge step toward ending the war in Iran. In the past, the US has denied visas to the Iranians as they are deemed a “state sponsor of terrorism.”
According to the UN treaty from 1947, the US government is not allowed to impose “any impediments to transit to or from the headquarters district” and visas should be granted “without charge and as promptly as possible.”
Separately, the BBC reported that the US denied visas to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation for a second straight year as the government does not recognize Palestine as a state.
