Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has denied a report from Axios that claimed members of the Iranian delegation who attended the UN General Assembly in New York City were “kicked out” of the country.
The report from Axios reporter Barak Ravid, which cited an unnamed US official, said two Iranian officials left after ignoring an early State Department order to leave.
“Secretary Rubio means business. Two more members of the Iranian delegation were found still in New York long after the UN General Assembly had passed. They have now been kicked out of the country,” the official said.
Araghchi responded to the report in a post on X on Sunday. “All Iranian diplomats who attended UNGA, except one who departed earlier, left as scheduled,” he wrote.
“Taking pride in fake diplomat ‘expulsion’ is inappropriate for the head of any diplomatic corps. It oozes of desperation and defeat, and is inconsistent with UN host nation obligations,” Araghchi added.
After attending the UNGA, Araghchi and other Iranian officials spent time in New York meeting with Qatari officials mediating between the US and Iran, but there was no sign of a breakthrough, as the two sides remain far apart.
Araghchi had offered a seven-day proposal that would see Iran fully open the Strait of Hormuz if the US ended its blockade, lifted sanctions on Iran, and released frozen Iranian funds, commitments the US made under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in July, but President Trump rejected the proposal.
While Araghchi has stressed that Iran is open to diplomacy, he has also said that the country is ready to face a renewed round of US airstrikes, which Trump is signaling may begin after the midterm elections. “If our enemies once again choose the path of military confrontation, they will face a stronger response than before, and we will defend ourselves more powerfully than before,” Araghchi said at a briefing to other diplomats in Tehran on Sunday.
