Iran delegation cleared by US for UN assembly

The United States will allow a core Iranian delegation to attend next week's UN General Assembly high-level week in New York, a State Department spokesman said Thursday, while imposing a smaller delegation size, travel limits and purchase restrictions.

AFP reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, that the permission covers Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The spokesman said the decision was consistent with US obligations as host country for the United Nations. He said the delegation would face restrictions on travel and bans on buying luxury goods and other products.

The move comes during the seventh month of a war sparked by US and Israeli strikes targeting Iran in late February. Tehran retaliated with a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy transit route, sending global oil prices higher. Shipping also remains restricted in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab Strait off Yemen, where Houthi rebels have seized control.

Washington's decision contrasts with its denial of entry visas to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials for the assembly. The State Department said that separate step was due to what it called failures by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority to reform and activities it said undermined prospects for peace.