US expels two Iranian delegation members for failing to comply with departure order

(Central News Agency, Washington, 3rd Comprehensive Foreign News Report) The U.S. State Department said today that it had "expelled" two members of the Iranian delegation. The two people ignored orders to leave and remained in the United States after the United Nations General Assembly.

A US official told AFP: "Long after the UN General Assembly ended, two members of the Iranian delegation were still found stranded (in New York). They have now been expelled by the United States." The official added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio "is serious this time."

U.S. media reported that the State Department asked Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation to leave the country on September 28. However, after learning that two of the members were still in the United States on October 2, the State Department decided to expel them.

US media Axios reported that one of the two delegation members left the country on the evening of October 2, and the other left on the morning of October 3.

U.S. and Iranian officials held a sideline meeting in New York last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but he told US media that he expected the two sides to resume dialogue in the coming days.