By Parisa Hafezi
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United States has imposed strict limits on the Iranian delegation attending the U.N. General Assembly in New York, curbing their movement and banning access to wholesale stores and luxury goods.
Tommy Pigott, deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said in a statement that the move aims to “maximize pressure” on Iran’s clerical establishment, accusing it of allowing authorities to enjoy luxury shopping abroad while ordinary Iranians face “poverty, failing infrastructure, and shortages of water and electricity.”
World leaders gather in New York every September for several days of speeches at the annual United Nations General Assembly, which on Tuesday begins its 80th session.
The economy is the top challenge for Iran’s ruling clerics, who fear a revival of protests that have erupted since 2017 by lower and middle-income communities angry at growing poverty because of sanctions, mismanagement and state corruption.
Though it harbors deep mistrust of the United States, and President Donald Trump in particular, Tehran is increasingly concerned that mounting public anger over economic hardships could weaken the establishment.
That is why, despite the unyielding stance of Iran’s clerical leaders in public, Tehran prefers diplomacy to resolve a decades-long dispute with the West over its nuclear program.
The United States, its European allies and Israel accuse Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons. Tehran has long denied it.
Tensions have heightened between Tehran and Washington since June, when the United States joined Israel and attacked Iranian nuclear sites during a 12-day war between Israel and Iran.
There are growing concerns among Iran’s clerical rulers over what they perceive as Trump’s intention to topple the Islamic Republic.
Tehran’s concerns were exacerbated by Trump’s speedy revival of the “maximum pressure” campaign, from his first term as U.S. president, to drive Iran’s oil exports toward zero with more sanctions and bring the country’s already-fragile economy to its knees.
Pigott said that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had ordered the Iranian delegation confined to routes between their hotel and the U.N. headquarters for official business only.
Iran’s foreign ministry did not comment on the U.S. State Department restrictions.
The United Nations headquarters is located in Midtown Manhattan. Before the new restrictions, Iranian delegation members were allowed to travel between the United Nations, the Iranian U.N. mission, the Iranian U.N. ambassador’s residence and John F. Kennedy International Airport in the New York City borough of Queens.
“The security of Americans remains our top priority,” Pigott said, adding that the U.S. will not let the Iranian regime exploit the U.N. General Assembly to advance what he called its “terrorist agenda” or enjoy privileges denied to its own people.
“These measures send a clear message: the United States stands with the people of Iran in their pursuit of accountability and a better future,” he said.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi at the United Nations; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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