Iran: US visa issue might force cancellation of Rouhani trip to UN

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani may abandon his plans to attend the United Nations General Assembly’s upcoming session due to difficulties with obtaining a U.S. visa.

Reuters reported Wednesday that Rouhani is struggling with U.S. authorities to obtain a visa to attend next week’s meeting, citing Iranian state media reports. It added that Rouhani would abandon his plans if he and a top aide are unable to secure visas later in the day.

{mosads}”The visits will likely be cancelled if their visas are not issued in the next few hours,” state news agency IRNA reported, according to Reuters.

The dispute over visas comes as Iran and the U.S. have been near the brink of war in the Middle East for weeks over escalating tensions between Iranian-backed forces across the region and U.S.-backed forces. A drone attack on Saudi oil facilities over the weekend, which the U.S. blamed on Iran, led to those tensions worsening over the past few days.

Iran and the Trump administration have seen all forms of diplomacy dissolve following the Trump administration’s exit from a 2015 nuclear pact with Iran signed under the Obama administration, the ending of which has led to U.S. sanctions being reimposed on Iran.

Iran’s supreme leader announced a day earlier that his country would negotiate with the Trump administration under no circumstances, and Rouhani is not set to meet with President Trump in any capacity during his visit to the U.N.

“All Iranian officials, from the president and the foreign minister to all others have announced that we do not negotiate [with the U.S.] either bilaterally or multilaterally,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, according to The Associated Press.