A core delegation of Iranian regime officials will be allowed to enter the US to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) summit in New York this month, a US State Department spokesperson said on Thursday.
According to the spokesperson, the Iranian officials will face travel restrictions and will be barred from purchasing luxury goods during their visit to the US.
This year’s delegation is expected to be smaller than last year’s delegation, which was headed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and faced similar shopping and travel restrictions.
US bars Palestinian officials from attending UNGA summit
On Wednesday, the US announced that it would extend sanctions that bar Palestinian Authority officials and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) members, including PA President Mahmoud Abbas, from obtaining visas necessary to attend the UNGA’s annual summit.
The State Department stated that the visa ban is intended to serve as a consequence for the PA and PLO’s “ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace” and glorification of terrorism.
Abbas was also denied a visa ahead of last year’s meeting, where he addressed the UN through video rather than making an in-person speech.
The UNGA voted on Thursday to allow Abbas to address the annual gathering of world leaders next week via video once again.
The resolution received 152 votes in favor and three votes against, while four countries abstained. It also allows Abbas and any other high-level Palestinian officials to take part in UN meetings or conferences via video over the next year if they are prevented from traveling to the US.
The US said last year that Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians would be affected by its decision to deny and revoke visas from members of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority. Washington announced on Wednesday that it had extended the visa bans.
"If the PA wants to be treated as a partner, it must stop subsidizing terror and stop using diplomatic theater as a substitute for serious governance," Deputy US Ambassador to the United Nations Tammy Bruce told the assembly before the vote.
Palestinian leaders rejected and condemned the move by the United States, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour told the General Assembly.
Reuters and Idan Kweller contributed to this report.