WASHINGTON — The United States forcibly removed two members of an Iranian diplomatic delegation from the country after they defied a formal order to depart following the conclusion of the UN General Assembly, the State Department confirmed Saturday.
“Two more members of the Iranian delegation were found still in [New York] long after the United Nations General Assembly had passed. They have now been kicked out of the US,” a State Department official told AFP, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio “means business.”
Rubio’s Directive Triggered the Expulsion After Iranian Officials Ignored Departure Order
The State Department had issued a directive to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his full delegation to leave the United States by Monday following the conclusion of the UN General Assembly session in New York.
When US officials learned from the Iranian mission to the UN that two delegation members remained in the country as of Friday — days past the deadline — the State Department moved to expel them directly.
According to Axios, one delegation member departed Friday night, while the second left Saturday morning, completing the forced removal.
The expulsion underscores the increasingly assertive posture the Rubio-led State Department has adopted toward Iranian officials operating on US soil, even under the limited diplomatic access afforded by UN-related travel.
US-Iran Diplomatic Channel Remains Active but Fraught, with Hormuz Proposal Rejected
The expulsion came against the backdrop of a broader, if tense, diplomatic engagement between Washington and Tehran. US and Iranian officials had met the previous week in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly — a rare instance of direct contact between the two governments.
However, the talks yielded no breakthrough on a key flashpoint. President Donald Trump rejected a proposal from Tehran related to the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway through which a significant portion of global oil supplies transit. Trump nonetheless told US media he expected negotiations to resume in the coming days.
Iranian state news agency IRNA offered a starkly different assessment, reporting that Tehran had no further direct talks with Washington scheduled, leaving the diplomatic trajectory uncertain.
Expulsion Follows Broader Pattern of US Pressure on Iranian Diplomatic Access
The removal of the two Iranian officials is consistent with a pattern of tightening restrictions on Iranian diplomatic activity within the United States. Iranian officials attending multilateral forums at the UN are granted limited access to US territory under longstanding host country agreements, but that access does not extend beyond the sanctioned period of their official visit.
The State Department’s decision to expel rather than simply issue a warning reflects a deliberate signal, analysts noted — one aimed at demonstrating that violations of departure orders carry immediate consequences regardless of diplomatic sensitivities.
The incident also coincided with a separate security development: the Pentagon confirmed that the United States had withdrawn all B-1 bomber aircraft from RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom following what US officials described as a new Iran-linked threat.
What This Means for US-Iran Relations Going Forward
The forced departure of the two Iranian diplomats adds another layer of friction to a relationship already operating under severe strain. While the New York meetings represented a diplomatic opening of sorts, the subsequent expulsion — and Tehran’s denial of any scheduled follow-up talks — suggests both sides remain far apart on the terms of any sustained engagement.
The Strait of Hormuz dispute, in particular, remains a significant sticking point. Any prolonged breakdown in dialogue over the waterway carries implications not just for bilateral relations, but for global energy markets and regional security.
For now, the State Department’s message, as relayed by the unnamed US official, is unambiguous: the Rubio State Department will enforce compliance with diplomatic protocols, and Iranian officials operating beyond their authorised presence in the United States will face immediate removal.
— Reporting based on AFP dispatches
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