New York (HRNW)- Iran’s mission to the United Nations has rejected reports that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation to leave the United States following a deadlock in indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
The Iranian mission said the delegation’s departure from New York followed a pre-arranged schedule that had been communicated to the US State Department on September 17. In a statement on X, the mission described reports that the delegation had been ordered to leave as baseless.
The denial came after Axios reported, citing US officials, that Rubio had directed Araghchi and his delegation to leave New York after negotiations made little progress. According to the report, the US decision followed stalled discussions concerning the Strait of Hormuz, the conflict, and the future of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Araghchi had remained in New York after the UN General Assembly to participate in indirect contacts with the United States, with Qatar acting as a mediator. The discussions included proposals concerning the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and broader efforts to end the conflict and resume nuclear negotiations.
The two sides have offered conflicting accounts of the timing and circumstances of the delegation’s departure. Iran maintains that the trip had been scheduled in advance, while US officials cited by AP said Rubio ordered the delegation to leave earlier than originally planned after limited progress in the talks.
The dispute comes as Washington and Tehran continue to communicate indirectly through regional mediators, while significant differences remain over sanctions, the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme.
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