US grants visas for Iran's president Pezeshkian and foreign minister Araghchi while barring the Palestinian delegation for a second year

The US granted visas to President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi so they can attend the UN General Assembly in New York — the State Department limited admission to a “core delegation.” Pezeshkian is listed to address the assembly Wednesday, Sept. 23. Admitting UN delegations is not discretionary: the 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement obliges the U.S. to let accredited delegations reach UN business. Whether it covers the Palestinians is the contested part — the PA and PLO hold non-member observer status at the UN, not full membership. Days earlier the administration denied visas to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the PLO delegation for the second straight year, saying the PLO and PA had failed their commitments.