The United States has refused to issue visas to members of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s delegation, including his communications team, for this week’s trip to the UN General Assembly, Iranian state media reported Monday (September 21, 2026).
President Donald Trump has denied U.S. visas to certain members of the president’s high-level delegation, including members of his communications team,” state news agency IRNA reported. “In an unprecedented hostile move by the U.S. government, U.S. Treasury chief says Iran airlines to be ‘shut down’ on September 23 U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Monday (September 21, 2026) that Iranian airlines will have trouble functioning globally in two days under the weight of American sanctions – as the Trump administration seeks to keep pressure on Tehran.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei accused the Trump administration of “trampling on the right of access to information”, pointing to its recent move to bar three major U.S. media outlets from the White House over objections to their coverage.
Earlier reporting noted: U.S. Bessent’s comments came a day after he met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng for economic talks laying the groundwork for President Donald Trump’s summit this on Thursday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, part of the delegation to the UN, left Iran on Sunday (September 20) evening for a stopover in Qatar.
“When an administration slams its doors shut — even on American journalists it happens to dislike — and bars foreign reporters, including the Iranian president’s media team, whose voices it would rather silence, it is not managing access; it is trying to hide the truth,” Mr. Baqaei said on X. Iran’s delegation will not, for instance, be allowed to purchase luxury goods or other items, the State Department said on Thursday.
