Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi have been granted US visas to attend next week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, despite the ongoing war between the United States and Iran entering its seventh month.
According to BBC, that Pezeshkian and Araghchi are among the core Iranian delegation members who have been cleared to travel to the US for the annual UN gathering.
The US State Department confirmed the decision on Thursday, saying the Iranian officials will face travel restrictions while also being barred from buying certain goods in the United States.
"Consistent with our host country obligations, the core delegation from the Iranian regime will be able to attend UN General Assembly High Level Week," a spokesman for the US State Department told the BBC.
"The delegation will be under travel restrictions and will face prohibitions on the purchase of luxury and other goods per our policy. The delegation is smaller than last year."
The decision comes as the conflict, which began in February, continues without signs of an end. The fighting has pushed up energy prices around the world and spread into neighbouring countries.
The US has also imposed limits on what Iranian officials attending the UN can purchase while in New York.
Last year, Iranian diplomats were prohibited from shopping at wholesale stores such as Costco. They also needed permission from the US before buying luxury products such as jewellery, alcohol and cars.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the restrictions were aimed at stopping Iranian officials from using their trip to make expensive purchases while people in Iran face economic and other difficulties.
"We will not let the Iranian regime's elites exploit UNGA for a luxury retail splurge paid for by the Iranian people's suffering, all while the regime funnels Iran's wealth to support its terrorist proxies," he posted on X, warning New York shops to "be on guard" against selling goods to the delegation.
Pigott did not say whether the US had information showing that members of the Iranian delegation were planning to buy luxury products during their visit.
The 81st session of the UN General Assembly is already underway, with the General Debate, the main part of the annual meeting, scheduled to start on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron are among the leaders expected to address the assembly on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, leaders from Ukraine, Syria and Iran are expected to deliver their speeches.
The decision to allow the Iranian delegation into the US comes amid growing public and political pressure on the White House to seek an end to the conflict.
The war began on 28 February after the US and Israel launched joint attacks against Iran.
Since then, Iran has repeatedly carried out attacks against US bases and allied countries in the Gulf, as well as Israel.
The US decision on the Iranian delegation comes after it denied visas to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian delegation for this year's UN General Assembly.
The BBC recently reported that the Palestinian delegation had been denied entry for a second consecutive year.
The White House said it does not recognise the legitimacy of the Palestinian delegation.