Iran to attend UN assembly in New York — even as peace with US remains elusive

Iranian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu/Getty Images

A slimmed-down Iranian delegation is due to touch down in New York on Tuesday for the United Nations General Assembly , as President Donald Trump touts the possibility of “very big things” ahead amid the war in the Middle East.

A founding member of the UN, Iran has maintained a presence at the global diplomatic event for decades, led most recently by the country’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and his predecessor, Ebrahim Raisi.

But the presence of Iran’s delegation this year, on the home turf of a country with which it remains at war , is unprecedented in recent years.

The Trump administration has said it will allow Iran’s “core delegation,” which will include Pezeshkian, to come to New York.

This year’s delegation will be smaller than during the 2025 event, months before the US-Iran war started, a State Department spokesperson said Thursday.

The exact makeup of Iran’s delegation is not yet known, but Iranian state media reported that Pezeshkian will travel to New York on Tuesday.

“Consistent with our host country obligations, the core delegation from the Iranian regime will be able to attend UN General Assembly High Level Week,” the State Department spokesperson said.

“The delegation will be under travel restrictions and will face prohibitions on the purchase of luxury and other goods per our (sanctions) policy,” the official said.

Section 11 of the UN Headquarters Agreement states that US authorities “shall not impose any impediments” on UN officials or representatives of member states to travel to or from the New York headquarters.

No US strikes on Iran have been publicly reported for more than two weeks.

Despite the lull, Trump indicated that major decisions on Iran may be approaching — a statement that risks aggravating tensions between the two nations ahead of the diplomatic gathering.

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Iran, meanwhile, has warned that any new US attack would trigger sustained strikes on US bases and interests across the region.

Iran’s central military command said Sunday it had received information that the US, with the backing of some regional countries, ⁠is preparing to resume actions against ⁠Iran, the country’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.

Speaking to Fox News over the weekend, Trump said he was in “deciding mode” and that “very big things” could happen soon. He did not provide details.

Yes. Iran has attended the General Assembly in various forms for decades, through turbulent times as well as moments of diplomatic progress. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed the assembly in 1987 when he was president, two years before he became supreme leader. Khamenei was killed in late February in an Israeli airstrike at the outset of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Notably, in 2015, Iran’s then-president, Hassan Rouhani, told world leaders that the landmark Iran nuclear deal signed that year — a focal point of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy — was a “victory over war” and should help bring peace to the Middle East.

Kevin Hagen/Getty Images

This year, though, the peace that Rouhani spoke of feels increasingly distant, with no sign of resumed negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

The closest international equivalent to this year’s wartime meeting might be Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s 1977 visit to Israel while the two countries were technically at war — but even that was part of a larger peace process.

There are more questions than answers at this stage.

The US has put restrictions on the Iranian delegation’s movements in the past.

Last year, the Trump administration announced it was blocking Iranian diplomats from accessing the “wholesale club stores” like Costco and purchasing luxury goods while in the US. That policy remains in place, according to the State Department spokesperson.

Iranian officials visiting New York for the UN General Assembly last year were also restricted “to the areas strictly necessary to transit to and from the UN headquarters district to conduct their official UN business.”

In 2019, amid tensions between the two nations, the US imposed restrictions on the visiting delegation’s movements.

Iran is not the only country to face obstacles over access. The Trump administration has again refused to issue a visa to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. He is likely to address the chamber via video.

CNN’s Max Saltman, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Tim Lister contributed reporting.

伊朗总统府/供图/阿纳多卢通讯社/盖蒂图片社

精简后的伊朗代表团将于周二抵达纽约参加联合国大会，与此同时，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普吹嘘，在中东战争的背景下，未来可能会有“非常大的事情发生”。

作为联合国创始成员国，伊朗几十年来一直活跃于这一全球外交盛会，最近由该国总统马苏德·佩泽什基安及其前任易卜拉欣·莱希领导。

但伊朗代表团今年出现在与其仍处于战争状态的国家的本土，这在近年来是前所未有的。

特朗普政府表示，将允许伊朗“核心代表团”（包括佩泽什基安）访问纽约。

美国国务院发言人周四表示，今年的代表团规模将比2025年的活动要小，而2025年的活动是在美伊战争爆发前几个月举行的。

伊朗代表团的具体组成尚不清楚，但伊朗国家媒体报道称，佩泽什基安将于周二前往纽约。

美国国务院发言人表示：“根据我们作为东道国的义务，伊朗政权的核心代表团将能够参加联合国大会高级别周。”

“根据我们的（制裁）政策，代表团将受到旅行限制，并被禁止购买奢侈品和其他商品，”该官员表示。

《联合国总部协定》第 11 条规定，美国当局“不得对联合国官员或成员国代表往返纽约总部设置任何障碍”。

两周多以来，没有公开报道美国对伊朗发动袭击。

尽管局势暂时平静，但特朗普表示，有关伊朗的重大决定可能即将出台——这一声明有可能在外交会议召开前加剧两国之间的紧张关系。

在联合国重要会议召开前夕，沙特与胡塞武装冲突升级，伊朗和特朗普互相发出新的警告。以下是您需要了解的内容。

与此同时，伊朗警告称，任何新的美国袭击都将引发对美国在该地区基地和利益的持续打击。

据伊朗半官方的塔斯尼姆通讯社报道，伊朗中央军事指挥部周日表示，他们已收到情报，称美国在一些地区国家的支持下，正准备恢复对伊朗的军事行动。

特朗普周末接受福克斯新闻采访时表示，他正处于“决策阶段”，而且“大事”可能很快就会发生。但他没有透露更多细节。

是的。几十年来，伊朗以各种形式参加联合国大会，经历了动荡时期以及外交取得进展的时刻。阿亚图拉·阿里·哈梅内伊在1987年担任总统时曾在联合国大会上发表讲话，两年后他成为最高领袖。哈梅内伊于2月下旬在以色列空袭中丧生，当时正值美以战争爆发之初。

值得注意的是，2015 年，伊朗时任总统哈桑·鲁哈尼告诉世界各国领导人，当年签署的具有里程碑意义的伊朗核协议（巴拉克·奥巴马总统外交政策的重点）是“战胜战争的胜利”，应该有助于给中东带来和平。

Kevin Hagen/Getty Images

然而，今年鲁哈尼所说的和平似乎越来越遥远，华盛顿和德黑兰之间恢复谈判的迹象仍然没有出现。

与今年战时会晤最接近的国际事件可能是埃及总统安瓦尔·萨达特 1977 年访问以色列，当时两国在技术上处于战争状态——但即使是那次访问也是更大和平进程的一部分。

现阶段问题多于答案。

美国过去曾对伊朗代表团的行动施加限制。

去年，特朗普政府宣布禁止伊朗外交官进入好市多（Costco）等“批发俱乐部商店”并购买奢侈品。据国务院发言人称，该政策仍然有效。

去年赴纽约参加联合国大会的伊朗官员也被限制在“往返联合国总部区域开展公务所必需的区域内”。

2019年，在两国关系紧张之际，美国对来访代表团的行动实施了限制。

伊朗并非唯一面临准入障碍的国家。特朗普政府再次拒绝向巴勒斯坦权力机构主席马哈茂德·阿巴斯发放签证。他很可能通过视频方式在议会发表讲话。

CNN的Max Saltman、Mohammed Tawfeeq和Tim Lister对此报道亦有贡献。