Iran's president heads to the UN in NY with a delegation of 40, including family

Iran’s President sparked controversy Sunday as he left Tehran for New York's United Nations General Assembly accompanied by a delegation of as many as 40 people, including his adult children.

Among the entourage are Masoud Pezeshkian’s two sons, daughter, and son-in-law.

Reports from outlets such as Modara and Tejarat News in Tehran indicate that in addition to close family members, several individuals linked to Elias Hazrati, the head of the government’s information council, also joined Pezeshkian on the trip.

Pezeshkian had previously faced public backlash after it was revealed that his son-in-law, Hassan Majidi, accompanied him on a government trip to Iraq. It was later revealed that Pezeshkian’s son and daughter had also been part of that delegation.

Iranian media reported last week that Majidi had since been appointed as the executive assistant to the head of the president’s office, raising additional concerns about nepotism within the government.

Modara’s report further highlighted the ongoing secrecy surrounding Pezeshkian's New York delegation, noting: “In Iran, the number of travelers to New York and the president's companions has always been controversial, but no head of state has been willing to transparently disclose the names of their companions on this trip.”

Among the officials confirmed to be traveling with Pezeshkian are Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister; Mohammad Javad Zarif, deputy for strategic affairs; Zahra Behrouz Azar, deputy for women's affairs; Mehdi Sanaei, political deputy of the president’s office; and Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, the executive deputy.

The Trump administration banned Zarif from visiting the United States in 2019, when Washington was pursuing 'maximum pressure' on Tehran.

The presence of government officials' children and family members at state events has long been a point of contention in Iranian politics. On August 28, at the ceremony introducing Mohammad Atabak as the new Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade, Hamid Reza Aref, the eldest son of First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, was seen attending, provoking widespread criticism.

As far back as 2012, during then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s trip to New York, approximately 140 people accompanied him. Mohammad Ali Pourmokhtar, a member of Iran’s parliament, revealed that many of the travelers were "family members and relatives of government officials."

Iran's latest president, Pezeshkian, stated that his goal for the visit to UNGA is to "neutralize the atmosphere" surrounding the Islamic Republic abroad. Iran has in the last two years been sanctioned for terror activities abroad, support for Russia's war on Ukraine, human rights abuses at home and its ongoing nuclear program.

Speaking on Sunday before his departure, he suggested a desire to win over the Iranian diaspora of whom there are over half a million originally born in Iran. "We can exchange views with Iranians there and neutralize the atmosphere they have created outside the country.

"The reality is not what they present through television, tribunes, or in gatherings," he said. Iran has seen massive activism and protests from its community around the US in a bid to garner international support to overthrow the government, gaining pace since the 2022 uprising.

In a bid to overturn the massively negative perceptions, Pezeshkian said: "Our Iran is much safer and freer than they [foreign media] have depicted."

In an interview with the Entekhab website, Fadahossein Maleki, a member of Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said on Sunday that "the interviews that Pezeshkian will conduct with Western media during his trip to New York will impact the US elections."

Pezeshkian also said that he intends to speak with other heads of state to "create peace and security in the world". It comes one year after the US designated Iran the world's number one state sponsor of terrorism.

Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister, who had already departed for New York ahead of Pezeshkian, said his meetings on the sidelines of the General Assembly on Sunday would center around the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas.

Araghchi said that on the first day, he held "serious discussions" with the foreign ministers of Kuwait and Bahrain, and the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council regarding "regional stability and security, the Palestinian issue, Israel's crimes in Gaza and southern Lebanon, the dangers Israeli policies pose to all countries, and the need to counter these policies."

On September 19, Reuters, citing three Iranian officials, reported that Pezeshkian, on his first trip to the West since his election, would carry a message signaling that "Tehran is open to diplomacy", while emphasizing that Tehran will not bow to pressure.

The report predicted that Iranian and European officials at the UN would explore ways to return to diplomacy regarding the Islamic Republic's nuclear program while seeking to reduce tensions with Israel. However, there has been no sign indicating European or US interest in reopening negotiations.

In their initial statements about the trip, neither Araghchi nor Pezeshkian mentioned the nuclear issue in spite of Iran having accelerated its nuclear program and obstructed UN inspectors.

According to the latest confidential reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Islamic Republic continues its high-enrichment uranium production, which could be used for building nuclear weapons.

France, the UK, and Germany, known as the European Troika, have increased pressure on Tehran to return to negotiations.

On September 10, these countries, along with the US, imposed new sanctions on the Islamic Republic due to its supply of ballistic missiles to Russia, an issue which has led to the deterioration of relations between Iran and the West, in addition to Iran's support for its regional proxies.

Since the war in Gaza, Iran's proxies have launched attacks on Israel from countries including Yemen, Syria and Iraq, in addition to Yemen's Houthis imposing a maritime blockade on the Red Sea region which has massively disrupted global shipping.