Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian is set to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, giving Tehran a rare opportunity to make its case before the international community even as Iran and the United States remain locked in a nearly seven-month-old war. But Pezeshkian and his delegation will face strict restrictions during their stay in the US.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, they will be allowed to travel between their Manhattan hotel and the UN headquarters but cannot freely move around New York without permission. The unusual arrangement reflects the tensions surrounding PezeshkianтАЩs visit. The US has long imposed restrictions on Iranian diplomats, but there is little precedent for Washington hosting the leader of a country with which it is currently at war during the UN General Assembly, WSJ reported.
Pezeshkian is expected to use his UN address on Wednesday to argue that Iran has been the victim of aggression and that its actions have been in self-defence, Richard Gowan, programme director for global issues and institutions at the International Crisis Group, told WSJ. The Iranian president is also seeking meetings with analysts from US and European think tanks while in New York, people familiar with the matter told WSJ. However, some analysts have expressed concerns about engaging with the Iranian delegation because of US sanctions restricting certain interactions with Tehran.
Since 2024, the State Department has restricted the Iranian delegationтАЩs movement largely to the route between the airport, the Millennium Hilton hotel and UN headquarters, according to WSJ. The hotel has hosted Iranian officials repeatedly since 2013. The Trump administration also introduced tighter restrictions last year, including requiring State Department permission for Iranian delegates to shop at certain stores or purchase luxury goods.
The restrictions exist alongside the US obligation as host country of the UN. Under the 1947 agreement establishing the UN headquarters in New York, Washington agreed not to impose impediments on officials from member states attending UN business. Marko Milanovi─З, a professor of international law at the University of Reading, described the situation as unusual from an optics standpoint but said the US was legally required to allow foreign dignitaries to attend the General Assembly.
Iranian leaders have nevertheless used the UN as an important platform to challenge US policy for decades. In 1980, while American hostages were being held in Tehran, an Iranian delegation attended the UN and used its appearance to condemn Iraq's invasion of Iran. During the Cold War, Soviet leaders also regularly used the General Assembly to criticise Washington.
Pezeshkian's appearance comes after a year of escalating confrontation. Last year, he addressed the UN months after a 12-day US-Israeli bombing campaign targeting Iran's nuclear facilities. He denied that Tehran sought nuclear weapons and accused its opponents of undermining diplomacy. This year's visit comes amid continued international tensions over Iran's nuclear programme and its disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has also faced criticism over attacks by Houthi forces in Yemen on ships in the Red Sea.
US President Donald Trump, who is also scheduled to address the UN, has defended military action against Iran by accusing Tehran of being the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism and insisting that it must not develop nuclear weapons. Trump has also said he remains open to meeting Pezeshkian in New York.
Despite the diplomatic activity around the General Assembly, a major breakthrough appears unlikely. UN Secretary-General Ant├│nio Guterres has said serious US-Iran dialogue would probably have to take place outside New York, while diplomats have indicated that no formal negotiations are currently planned during the UN week.
