Iran to attend UN assembly in New York — even as peace with US remains elusive

A slimmed-down Iranian delegation is due to touch down in New York on Tuesday for the United Nations General Assembly, as President Donald Trump touts the possibility of “very big things” ahead amid the war in the Middle East. A founding member of the UN, Iran has maintained a presence at the global diplomatic event for decades, led most recently by the country’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and his predecessor, Ebrahim Raisi. But the presence of Iran’s delegation this year, on the home turf of a country with which it remains at war, is unprecedented in recent years. Which Iranian officials are allowed to attend? The Trump administration has said it will allow Iran’s “core delegation,” which will include Pezeshkian, to come to New York. This year’s delegation will be smaller than during the 2025 event, months before the US-Iran war started, a State Department spokesperson said Thursday. The exact makeup of Iran’s delegation is not yet known, but Iranian state media reported that Pezeshkian will travel to New York on Tuesday. “Consistent with our host country obligations, the core delegation from the Iranian regime will be able to attend UN General Assembly High Level Week,” the State Department spokesperson said. “The delegation will be under travel restrictions and will face prohibitions on the purchase of luxury and other goods per our (sanctions) policy,” the official said. Section 11 of the UN Headquarters Agreement states that US authorities “shall not impose any impediments” on UN officials or representatives of member states to travel to or from the New York headquarters. Is the US-Iran war ongoing? No US strikes on Iran have been publicly reported for more than two weeks. Despite the lull, Trump indicated that major decisions on Iran may be approaching — a statement that risks aggravating tensions between the two nations ahead of the diplomatic gathering. Iran, meanwhile, has warned that any new US attack would trigger sustained strikes on US bases and interests across the region. Iran’s central military command said Sunday it had received information that the US, with the backing of some regional countries, ⁠is preparing to resume actions against ⁠Iran, the country’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported. Speaking to Fox News over the weekend, Trump said he was in “deciding mode” and that “very big things” could happen soon. He did not provide details. Has Iran attended before? Yes. Iran has attended the General Assembly in various forms for decades, through turbulent times as well as moments of diplomatic progress. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed the assembly in 1987 when he was president, two years before he became supreme leader. Khamenei was killed in late February in an Israeli airstrike at the outset of the US-Israeli war with Iran. Notably, in 2015, Iran’s then-president, Hassan Rouhani, told world leaders that the landmark Iran nuclear deal signed that year — a focal point of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy — was a “victory over war” and should help bring peace to the Middle East. This year, though, the peace that Rouhani spoke of feels increasingly distant, with no sign of resumed negotiations between Washington and Tehran. The closest international equivalent to this year’s wartime meeting might be Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s 1977 visit to Israel while the two countries were technically at war — but even that was part of a larger peace process. How will the visit work logistically? There are more questions than answers at this stage. The US has put restrictions on the Iranian delegation’s movements in the past. Last year, the Trump administration announced it was blocking Iranian diplomats from accessing the “wholesale club stores” like Costco and purchasing luxury goods while in the US. That policy remains in place, according to the State Department spokesperson. Iranian officials visiting New York for the UN General Assembly last year were also restricted “to the areas strictly necessary to transit to and from the UN headquarters district to conduct their official UN business.” In 2019, amid tensions between the two nations, the US imposed restrictions on the visiting delegation’s movements. Iran is not the only country to face obstacles over access. The Trump administration has again refused to issue a visa to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. He is likely to address the chamber via video.