Iran Press/ Iran news: Iranian Foreign Minister at a news conference today in Tehran said that Americans are trying to prevent him from attending the UN Security Council meeting and blocking his visa, but they do not know that New York is not the whole world.
"My mission is to go to New York to inform the US citizens of their government's crimes and White House's officials want to prevent it, but they are wrong because the world is not limited to New York and informing the people has many tools," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said at a news conference Tuesday.
Washington has refused to issue a visa to Zarif, even though, as the host of the United Nations headquarters, the US is obliged to allow foreign officials into the country.
The visa request was filed several weeks ago, before the latest escalation, and would give the top Iranian diplomat a stage to speak out following last Thursday’s drone strike assassination of IRGC Qods Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, along with senior Iraqi leaders.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Tehran Dialogue Forum this morning, Zarif said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had told the UN Secretary-General António Guterres that the visa was not issued due to time restraint.
“The UN secretary-general, in turn, said that Iran has a right to attend the meeting,” Zarif said, adding “I wasn’t too keen on attending the meeting either, given the current situation.”
“They fear that someone comes to the US and reveals realities,” Zarif said after being denied a visa. He vowed to communicate with the American people from Tehran, noting that the world is not limited to New York. 207/205
Read More:
World is not just New York: Zarif
Zarif: US presence in West Asia collapsing
