Iran 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 later, US President Barack Obama also approved the unusual legislation that had already been passed by the US Congress.
In reply, Ahmad Bakhshayesh, member of the parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, told the Tasnim News Agency on Thursday that the US administration has no right to interfere in the affairs that pertain to the UN.
He said the US authorities are using the language of force in dealing with the Abutalebi case, and stressed, “We should not succumb to the bullying language as well, but the administration should exercise rational prudence in this regard.”
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.