The Trump administration has granted visas to senior Iranian officials, including the president and foreign minister, so they can attend next week’s high-level U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, even as the two countries remain locked in a stalemated war.

On Thursday, the State Department announced that it had granted visas to Iran’s “core delegation,” as well as to the essential staff needed to attend the U.N. meetings.

According to U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of visa privacy laws, the core delegation includes President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The move is unusual given the conflict between Iran and the United States, which has lasted more than six months, and the absence of any indication that agreements to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or return to talks on Iran’s nuclear program are imminent.

It also comes as Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have intensified attacks on Saudi infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea, another major maritime route in the region where impediments have helped drive a surge in global oil prices.

Moreover, the United States, which has imposed significant sanctions on the country and recently launched a new campaign aimed at severing “critical financial lifelines,” asserts that Iran remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.

As the host country for the United Nations headquarters, the U.S. is generally limited in what it can do to prevent foreign leaders from coming to the General Assembly.

However, it has in the past denied visas to — or discouraged applications from — leaders involved in active conflicts with the United States.

For last year's U.N. meetings of world leaders — held before the Iran war began on Feb. 28 but after the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025 — the State Department approved a limited number of visas for Iranian diplomats as well, while imposing strict restrictions on the delegation's movements.

These included strict limits on how far Iranian officials could travel within New York City from their U.N. mission, and they were banned from shopping at wholesale membership stores, such as Costco and Sam’s Club.

This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA, and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service are applicable.

The decision regarding the Iranian visas was disclosed merely a day after the State Department refused to grant visas to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation, thereby preventing their attendance at the General Assembly.

“In accordance with our obligations as host country, a core delegation representing the Iranian regime will be permitted to attend the UN General Assembly High Level week,” the State Department said.

“The delegation will be subject to travel restrictions and will encounter prohibitions on the purchase of luxury and other goods, in line with our policy.

The delegation is smaller than that of last year.”

The department accused the Palestinian Authority — which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank — of trying to “internationalize” the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza by bringing cases to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, and by continuing to pay stipends to prisoners jailed in Israel for attacks on Israelis.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the move, calling Israel’s actions “the real threat to the two-state solution and prospects for peace.”

It also said it remained committed to long-stalled negotiations, while defending its efforts to gain Palestinian recognition through international bodies and courts.

“Punitive measures and restrictions imposed on Palestinian officials do not contribute to advancing peace or combating violence,” the authority’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Rather, they weaken the Palestinian partner committed to a political solution and encourage forces working to undermine the two-state solution and impose the reality of occupation, settlement and annexation by force.”

The U.S. does not recognize the Palestinian Authority as the government of a full U.N. member state, while the U.N. General Assembly, along with various U.N. agencies and organizations, does.