Iran Would Not ‘Nominate Substitute for UN Envoy

Abbas Araghchi told Mehr News that the foreign ministry was pursuing the issue according to provisioned mechanisms of the UN. “We have no plan to nominate any other ambassador than Mr. Abutalebi, and would address the issue from legal venues,” he added.
 
The US Congress had enacted a bill denying visa to Mr. Abutalebi, Iran’s nominee for the position of permanent ambassador to the UN under the pretext that he had played a role in 1979 hostage-taking crisis in US embassy in Tehran.
 
Mr. Abutalebi said in a tweet in his personal Twitter account that the act was a new legal track by the US, that is, “to violate the international commitments of a country by national parliament acts.”
 
Office of Iran’s representative to the UN called the US act as ‘unwise’ and ‘flagrant violation of international conventions’ in its first reaction to the news of denial of visa for Abutalebi.
 
In response to a question by Mehr News on the US bill, Araghchi told that “we announced to the US officials that we have nominated one of the most experienced and high-profile diplomats to permanent embassy to the US. Mr. Abutalebi is former ambassador to Italy, Belgium, and Australia,” he added.
 
“We should not allow a group of extremist hawks to set the rules for Iran’s presence in the UN. The US conduct is unacceptable and we will act according to UN mechanisms to counteract it,” Araghchi said.