US Lawmaker Calls On Blinken To Revoke Iranian FM’s Visa

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during a meeting with a group of foreign envoys in Tehran on April 14, 2024
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during a meeting with a group of foreign envoys in Tehran on April 14, 2024

A Republican Senator is pressing the Secretary of State to "immediately revoke" the visa issued to Iran's Foreign Minister ahead of his trip to a UN meeting in New York this Thursday.

“After Iran attacked an ally of the US it would be absurd for the State Department to allow Iranian Foreign Minister a visa to travel in the US,” Senator James Lankford's wrote on X.

Iran's UN mission confirmed that Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will represent Iran at a UN Security Council meeting on Israel's Gaza war this week.

Amir-Abdollahian has visited the US twice since attacks carried out by terrorist group Hamas – part of Tehran's proxy network – on Israel.

“Given his ties to terrorism against Israel and US forces, Amir-Abdollahian should not be welcome in our country,” read Republican Senator James Lankford's letter addressed to US Secretary Antony Blinken.

Following Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel this past Sunday, the Iranian government official’s visit comes at a time of unparalleled tensions between Tehran and Tel Aviv.

Iran’s armed forces launched over 300 drones and missiles in response to purported Israeli attacks in Syria which killed several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials.

The visit also coincides with the 41st anniversary of the 1983 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut, carried out by the Islamist terrorist group Hezbollah, with support from Iran. That attack killed 63 people.

Last month, a group of 27 House Representatives penned a letter to the State Department, urging the Biden administration to ban Iranian officials from attending UN meetings in the US.

The US is generally required to allow foreign diplomats access to the United Nations under the 1947 "headquarters agreement" – though Washington can refuse visas for reasons related to security, terrorism, and foreign policy.

In 2020, after then-President Donald Trump ordered the killing of prominent military commander, Qassem Soleimani, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was denied a visa to attend a UN Security Council meeting in New York.

The Biden administration has been under pressure for not taking a firmer stance against Iran’s aggression from lawmakers and US allies – all against the backdrop of the upcoming presidential election.

“Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Houthis are all currently attacking our ally Israel with weapons supplied by Iran. The Biden Admin can and should stop the Iranian foreign minister’s entry into the US,” Senator Lankford wrote on X.