Two members of Iran’s delegation to the United Nations were expelled from the United States after staying in New York well past a deadline Secretary of State Marco Rubio had set for the entire Iranian delegation to leave the country.
The U.N. General Assembly session concluded on September 28, but a small group of Iranian officials remained in New York, reportedly to continue negotiations. Rubio had already ordered the full delegation out, saying they had overstayed their welcome, and set Monday as the deadline for departure.
According to an official who spoke with Fox News Digital, U.S. authorities discovered that two diplomats had not complied and moved to force them out.
“Secretary Rubio means business. Two more members of the Iranian delegation were found still in New York long after the UN General Assembly had passed. They have now been kicked out of the country,” a U.S. official told Fox News Digital.
One of the diplomats departed Friday night, and the other left Saturday morning, Fox News Digital reported.
Trump Weighs In From Alabama
The expulsions came the same week President Donald Trump addressed Iran’s leadership turmoil during a campaign rally in Mobile, Alabama, on Friday night.
“They lost one set of leaders. Then they lost another set of leaders. Then they lost half of a third set, and they had a little runoff for who wants to be president and there were no participants. Everyone said, ‘I don’t, I don’t want to be,'” Trump told the crowd.
He continued, describing the difficulty of identifying anyone in Iran’s government willing to engage with the United States.
“And it’s part of our problem. I don’t know who the hell to deal with. There’s nobody to deal with. Nobody wants to be president, I’d say ‘Who do I speak to in Iran?’ They’re not nobody around. Knock, knock. Nobody home,” Trump added.
The episode marks the latest instance of the administration enforcing strict limits on foreign diplomatic presence on U.S. soil, underscoring the administration’s posture that diplomatic privileges granted for U.N. business do not extend indefinitely once that business concludes.
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