The American website "Axios" revealed, at dawn today (Thursday), that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the Iranian delegation, led by his counterpart Abbas Araghchi, to leave New York immediately on Monday evening, after indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran reached a dead end, despite mediation efforts to achieve a breakthrough that would lead to ending the war. The website quoted an American official and another informed source that the delegation left on a flight to Doha, hours after receiving the request, while the Qatari mediators continued their contacts with the two sides regarding a compromise proposal.
An American diplomatic rebuke amid the deadlock in negotiations with Iran
Although the Iranians were likely to leave the United States soon anyway, Rubio's move represents a "very unusual diplomatic rebuke" and reveals the depth of mistrust between the two countries, in light of the fruitless efforts to reach an end to the war, according to "Axios."
Qatari mediators tried to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran, but they made limited progress, in light of the unwillingness of either party to make concessions.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was among the officials ordered to leave New York.
The US official told Axios: “Secretary Rubio expelled the Iranian delegation that had overstayed its welcome. “The UN General Assembly was over, so it was time for them to leave.”
The faltering negotiations dashed the hopes of the White House
Behind the scenes, the White House believed Monday morning that there was potential for progress in talks with Iran later in the day, but by late afternoon it became clear that negotiations had reached an impasse.
Based on Rubio's orders, the US mission to the United Nations informed, on Monday evening, the Iranian mission to the international organization that Araqchi's delegation must leave New York immediately, according to what the US official said.
The Iranian delegation, which Araqchi was part of, left for the airport several hours later and boarded a flight from New York to Doha at 1:20 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
A second source confirmed to the site that the United States had asked the Iranian delegation to leave the country, but said that Araghchi was scheduled to return to Tehran on Monday evening anyway.
Qatari mediators continue to move between Washington and Tehran
Qatari mediators continue to hold talks with the two sides regarding a settlement proposal, according to what regional sources told Axios.
US President Donald Trump told reporters, on Wednesday, in response to a question about how to reach an agreement with a regime he describes as “crazy”: “Maybe I will eliminate them.” He added: “We have to make this decision.” We will eliminate them or reach an agreement. But time is running out. “This will be over very soon, one way or another.”
An immigration court judge ruled that the US government can deport Palestinian-American Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, the largest mosque in Wisconsin, and a permanent resident, under a law dating back to the Cold War era, according to Reuters.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Sarsour, who grew up in the West Bank, in late March and released him in mid-June, after a federal judge said he filed a free speech counterclaim that would make his detention illegal.
Chicago Immigration Court Judge Jaime Salinardi late Tuesday upheld the government's argument that Sarsour poses a security and foreign policy threat under the Cold War-era Immigration and Nationality Act, while rejecting the government's claim that he lied when he applied for a green card.
The Department of Homeland Security welcomed the ruling, saying the judge “upheld multiple grounds for deportation.”
Sarsour said that his legal team would appeal the ruling, which he described as “deeply disappointing.”
He added in a statement: “I will not stop defending what is right and justice in Palestine.” Sarsour cannot be deported until he has exhausted all legal avenues available to him. He says that his life would be in danger if he was deported to the West Bank.
The Islamic Society of Milwaukee says that Sarsour has lived in the United States for more than three decades, and that he is “targeted because of his Palestinian and Muslim origins, and his defense of the rights of the Palestinians.”
His legal team said that Sarsour suffers from type 2 diabetes, and lost more than 30 pounds (about 13 kilograms) while in ICE custody.
Sarsour has no criminal record in the United States, and was convicted as a boy before an Israeli military court before coming to the United States, which the Trump administration uses as a pretext to say that he poses a threat. Sarsour says that the US government has been aware of this information for decades.
The Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem says that the conviction rate in the military courts, before which Palestinians are tried on charges against them in the West Bank, is 96 percent, and they have a history of extracting confessions through torture.
The administration of President Donald Trump says Sarsour was convicted of throwing Molotov cocktails at the homes of Israeli soldiers.
Sarsour denies committing these acts, and says that he was tortured and forced to make confessions.
Trump is trying to deport foreign pro-Palestinian demonstrators, has threatened to freeze funding for universities that have witnessed protests, impose checks on immigrants' social media accounts, and impose sanctions on critics of Israel.
