The United States expelled two members of the Iranian delegation that took part in the 81st UN General Assembly after they remained in the country despite being ordered to leave, the State Department announced on Saturday.
“It was determined that two members of the Iranian delegation remained in New York after the United Nations General Assembly concluded. They have now been expelled from the US,” a US official told Agence France-Presse (AFP), adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio “is not joking.”
According to US media reports, the State Department had asked Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation to leave the country last Monday. It was later informed that two members of the delegation were still in the US and proceeded to expel them.
Axios reported that one member of the delegation left on Friday evening and the second on Saturday morning.
US and Iranian officials had met in New York the previous week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
US President Donald Trump had rejected a proposal from Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz. However, he told US media that he expected talks to resume in the coming days.
Iranian news agency IRNA reported that Tehran had not scheduled a new round of direct talks with Washington.
Source: CNA
