MP Calls for Iran’s Insistence on UN Envoy Nominee
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian lawmaker called on the country’s administration to move ahead with its pick for the post of UN ambassador despite US obstructionism, saying Tehran should stand firm on its choice.
The Islamic Republic has proposed Hamid Abutalebi as its newly-appointed ambassador to the United Nations. But the US, the UN headquarters host country, has opposed to his nomination.
On April 8, the US Senate voted to bar Abutalebi from the US and the White House said he will not be welcomed in the country, describing his nomination as “not viable”. The House of Representatives unanimously passed the same legislation on April 10.
And in the latest development, US President Barack Obama approved the unusual legislation that had already been passed by the US Congress.
In reply, Mohammad Esmaili, member of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, took a swipe at Washington’s controversial move, saying, “Such US measure is in direct contradiction to the international principles both legally and in regard to the diplomatic norms.”
Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency on Saturday, the lawmaker also urged the Iranian officials to take a firm stance towards the US decision, stressing that Tehran should insist on Abutalebi’s nomination and resort to the whole options for his presence at the UN.
Earlier on April 13, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham had announced that Tehran plans to file a lawsuit against the US for its decision to refuse a visa to Abutalebi.
“The US move to deny a visa to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s permanent representative and ambassador to the UN is in violation of the international laws and contrary to agreements signed between the UN and the US government,” she said at the time.
Under a 1947 law that established the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, the United States is obligated to issue visas to diplomats assigned there, even those it finds objectionable.
