A diplomatic dispute has flared up between Iran and the United States in New York following the UN General Assembly session, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi strongly denying reports that Washington forcibly expelled Iranian diplomats from the country after the assembly concluded. Araghchi made clear on X that the reports being circulated were completely false, stating that his delegation members returned on schedule as planned.
According to the reports, the State Department had instructed Iran’s UN mission on Monday, September 28, that the entire delegation must leave the country immediately once the General Assembly session concluded. However, the US said it found that two Iranian diplomats remained in New York well after the session had ended. A US official said Secretary of State Marco Rubio took the matter seriously and ordered the two to leave the country immediately, with the two subsequently “kicked out” of the US on Saturday, October 3. According to the official, one diplomat left New York on Friday night, while the second departed Saturday morning.
Reacting to these reports, Araghchi dismissed the US claims of an expulsion as “fake,” writing on X that all Iranian diplomats who attended the UNGA, except for one who had departed earlier, left on schedule as planned, and that no one was forced out. He said the characterisation “oozes of desperation and defeat” and was inconsistent with the obligations the US holds as the UN’s host nation.
Araghchi reacted sharply to Washington’s conduct in this regard, criticising the staging of what he called a “fake” diplomat-expulsion drama and its celebration by US officials as a clear sign of America’s helplessness and psychological defeat. He alleged that the US was acting in violation of the basic responsibilities expected of a country hosting the United Nations.
Some key discussions had also taken place between officials of both countries on the sidelines of the recent UN General Assembly session in New York. Notably, US President Donald Trump turned down Iran’s proposal to reopen the internationally significant Strait of Hormuz, even as he expressed hope that talks with Iran would resume in the days ahead. Even as proposals for renewed talks surfaced on one hand, a war of words broke out between the two countries over the diplomats’ departure on the other.