Washington: In a rare diplomatic rebuke, the United States has blocked Iran’s controversial pick for envoy to the United Nations, a move that could stir fresh animosity at a time when Washington and Tehran have been seeking a thaw in relations.
The Obama administration said Friday that the US had informed Iran it would not grant a visa to Hamid Abu Talebi, a member of the group responsible for the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran. While US officials had been trying to persuade Iran to simply withdraw Abu Talebi’s name, the announcement amounted to an acknowledgement that those efforts had not been successful.
“We’ve communicated with the Iranians at a number of levels and made clear our position on this — and that includes our position that the selection was not viable,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. “Our position is that we will not be issuing him a visa.”
Abu Talebi is alleged to have participated in a Muslim student group that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days during the embassy takeover. He has insisted his involvement in the group Muslim Students Following the Imam’s Line was limited to translation and negotiation.
Hamid Babaei, a spokesman for the Iranian UN Mission, said the decision was not only regrettable but “in contravention of international law, the obligation of the host country and the inherent right of sovereign member-states to designate their representatives to the United Nations.”
As host country for the United Nations, the US must provide rights to persons invited to the New York headquarters. However, exceptions can be made when a visa applicant is found to have engaged in spying against the US or poses a threat to American national security.
Denying visas to UN ambassadorial nominees or to foreign heads of state who want to attend United Nations events in the US is extremely rare, though there appears to be precedent. According to a paper published by the Yale Law School, the United States rejected several Iranians appointed to the UN in the 1980s who had played roles in the embassy hostage crisis or other acts against American citizens.
Iran’s choice of Abu Talebi had pinned President Barack Obama between congressional pressure to deny the envoy entry into the US and the White House’s delicate diplomatic dealings with Tehran. After more than three decades of discord, US and Iranian officials have started having occasional direct contact, including a phone call last year between Obama and new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
The US and its international partners also have reached an interim agreement with Iran to halt progress on Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme. Officials are in the midst of negotiating a long-term agreement to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon.
Officials said Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman, the chief US negotiator in the nuclear talks, informed Iranian officials involved in discussions in Vienna this week about the visa decision. The White House said it did not expect the negotiations, which are due to resume next month, to be affected by the matter.
Despite some signs of progress in relations, many US lawmakers continue to eye Iran sceptically, and Tehran’s choice of Abu Talebi sparked outrage from both Democrats and Republicans. The House and Senate unanimously passed legislation expanding the grounds for barring entry into the US to include individuals engaged in terrorism.
Carney would not say Friday whether Obama would sign that bill, but he said the president did share its sentiments.
The administration’s decision to block Abu Talebi’s nomination drew praise from both parties, including Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the chief sponsor of the congressional legislation. In an interview with Fox News, Cruz said he appreciated the president “doing the right thing and barring this acknowledged terrorist from coming into the country.”
Senator Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. said allowing Abu Talebi into the US “would have been a slap at all American victims of terrorism, not just those taken hostage in 1979. We’re glad the Obama Administration made this choice, and Iran should stop playing these games. “
UN officials had no immediate comment on the US decision.
Iran had previously called US rejection of Abu Talebi “not acceptable,” with Iranian state television quoting Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham as saying he is one of the country’s best diplomats and arguing that he previously received a US visa.
American officials said Iran still has time to withdraw the nomination and application, suggesting the US has simply chosen to not act on the visa instead of outright rejecting it.
Without a US visa, Abu Talebi would not be allowed to enter the United States. Iran could nominate a different ambassador or have Abu Talebi occupy the post from overseas.
Despite the decades-long tensions between the US and Iran, the Islamic republic maintains a robust diplomatic mission at UN headquarters in New York. The US frequently allows visas for representatives from countries it disfavours, including Syria and North Korea, but restricts their diplomats’ movements and activities to a 40km radius of New York City.
There have been previous instances where officials accused of terrorism or deemed to pose a threat to the US have sought visas to appear at the UN, including with a previous Iranian nominee in the early 1990s and more recently with Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir. In most cases, the US has either signalled opposition to the applicant and the request has been withdrawn, or the State Department has simply declined to process the application.
