Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The United States has refused to issue visas to members of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's communications team for this week's United Nations General Assembly, Iranian state media reported on Monday, prompting Tehran to accuse Washington of an "unprecedented hostile move" that it says tramples on the right of access to information.
The denial affects the president's media entourage, which will now be absent from the trip to New York. Pezeshkian will still travel and is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Wednesday, according to Mehr news agency, which cited a spokesperson for the Iranian presidency. He will be the highest-ranking Iranian official to enter the United States since the Middle East war began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February 2026.
State news agency IRNA reported that President Donald Trump had personally denied the visas. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei accused the Trump administration of "trampling on the right of access to information," pointing to its recent decision to bar three major US media outlets from the White House over objections to their coverage. "When an administration slams its doors shut — even on American journalists it happens to dislike — and bars foreign reporters, including the Iranian president's media team, whose voices it would rather silence, it is not managing access; it is trying to hide the truth," Baqaei said in a post on X.
The visa denial is the latest development in a long-running dispute over Washington's use of its status as the UN host nation to restrict the movement and activities of delegations from countries with which it has adversarial relations. The US has authorised the Iranian delegation to travel for the General Assembly but has imposed restrictions similar to those applied last year, when Iranian diplomats were banned from shopping at wholesale stores such as Costco and required to seek permission before purchasing luxury goods. A State Department spokesman said the Iranian delegation would not be allowed to purchase luxury goods or other items during its stay. "We will not let the Iranian regime's elites exploit UNGA 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," the spokesman, Tommy Pigott, wrote on social media, warning New York retailers to "be on guard."
The restrictions go beyond shopping. The Iranian delegation faces severe geographic travel limitations, confining officials strictly to areas in and around the UN precinct in Manhattan. Iranian officials have described the measures as punitive and petty. Baqaei dismissed them as "crude propaganda" and "theatrical," arguing that the White House behaves as though the international community lacks memory and critical judgment. He drew a contrast between the administrative curbs and the broader economic pressure on Iran, pointing out the absurdity of US officials boasting about blocking diplomatic store memberships while enforcing a blockade against over 85 million Iranian civilians. "They look past the sanctioning of an entire nation's livelihood, then issue solemn statements about the sanctioning of a store membership card," he said.
The visa denial comes as the war between the United States and Iran grinds into its seventh month. The conflict began on February 28, 2026, when the US and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since then, Iran has repeatedly attacked US bases and allied states in the Gulf, as well as Israel. The war has driven up global energy prices and expanded into neighbouring countries. Iran has choked off the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil and gas shipping route, and the United States has imposed a counterblockade of Iranian ports. Iran says it has conveyed conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to the US via Qatar as mediator.
The decision to grant a visa to Pezeshkian while denying entry to his communications team has drawn scrutiny. The State Department said the "core delegation from the Iranian regime" would be able to attend "consistent with our host country obligations," and noted that the delegation would be smaller than last year's. The US granted visas to only three Iranian journalists in 2025, and previous administrations typically allowed press entourages routine access under UN headquarters agreements. The blanket denial of press credentials this year marks a sharp escalation. Iranian observers argue that Washington's obstructionism reflects deep apprehension over the unfiltered projection of Tehran's regional realities and anti-sanctions discourse to the global public, seeking instead to suppress Iranian journalistic coverage of the summit.
The visa restrictions also come amid a broader pattern of US restrictions on delegations it views as adversarial. The Trump administration has denied a visa to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian delegation for the second year in a row, citing actions that "internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." The decision to bar Abbas while allowing Pezeshkian was described by analysts as striking. The US has also barred three major American media outlets from the White House over their coverage, a move that Baqaei cited as evidence of a broader hostility to press freedom.
Under the UN Headquarters Agreement, the United States is obligated to facilitate the entry and stay of representatives of UN member states. Iran maintains accredited diplomats at the UN despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties with Washington. The 81st session of the General Assembly is currently underway, with the General Debate beginning on Tuesday. World leaders will address the assembly through the week, with Pezeshkian scheduled to deliver Iran's national statement on Wednesday. His address is expected to outline Tehran's foreign policy doctrine, regional diplomacy and opposition to unilateralism. He is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with heads of state and international dignitaries on the sidelines of the summit.
For now, the dispute over visas has added another layer of tension to an already fraught diplomatic environment. Iran has framed the denial as evidence of Washington's disregard for international norms, while the United States has justified the restrictions as consistent with its host-country obligations and its broader policy of pressuring Tehran. The coming days will determine whether the visa dispute escalates further or whether Pezeshkian's address proceeds without incident. What is certain is that the Iranian president's visit to New York is taking place under conditions that Tehran describes as deliberately hostile, and the absence of his communications team means that Iran's version of events will reach the world through channels that Washington has sought to restrict.
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