New Delhi:
Amid reports of visa denial, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will leave for New York on Friday, announced the Foreign Ministry. The Iranian media had earlier reported that President Hassan Rouhani and his delegation could be forced into skipping the assembly if US visas were not issued. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abbas Mousavi took to Twitter to announce that Javad Zarif will leave for US on Friday to attend the 74th session of UNGA.
🇮🇷 دکتر Ù…Øمد جواد ظریÙ وزیر امور خارجه جمهوری اسلامی ایران بامداد جمعه برای شرکت در Ù‡ÙÂتاد Ùˆ چهارمین نشست مجمع عمومی سازمان ملل متØد عازم نیویورک Ù…ÛŒ شود.
— S.A MOUSAVI (@SAMOUSAVI9) September 19, 2019
🇮🇷 Foreign Minister, @JZarif is leaving for New York early on Friday morning to attend the 74th session of the UNGA. pic.twitter.com/dXtuwJavYj
However, being Iran’s top diplomat Zarif was sanctioned by the US on July 31 but the United States being the host nation is generally obliged to issue visas to diplomats who serve at UN headquarters.
Earlier, Zarif flew into Biarritz in southern France for the G7 summit in an unexpected and dramatic attempt to break a diplomatic deadlock over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.
The French presidency had described talks at the G7 summit in Biarritz between French leaders and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as “positive” and said the discussions, which also included Germany and Britain, would continue.
Tensions continue to soar between Iran and the US in the aftermath of attacks on Aramco, the Saudi oil facility. The US President had earlier stated that US is ‘locked and loaded’ to punish the culprit and just waits for the Saudis to confirm so as to who they believe responsible for the attacks. Iran, on the other hand, has denied all the allegations.
In May last year, Trump abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions in its campaign of “maximum pressure”.
