Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation to leave New York immediately after U.S.-Iran diplomatic efforts reached an impasse, according to U.S. officials — an extraordinary diplomatic rebuke issued just days after the United Nations General Assembly.

The directive was first reported by Axios and subsequently confirmed by two U.S. officials to The Associated Press.

The Trump administration had granted Araghchi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other Iranian officials visas to attend the annual U.N. gathering in Manhattan despite the ongoing war between the two countries. Their movements while in the United States were subject to severe restrictions.

Pezeshkian departed New York shortly after his address to the General Assembly, but Araghchi remained behind as diplomatic efforts continued through intermediaries.

The discussions focused on several of the most consequential issues in the conflict, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz, bringing the war to an end and potentially restarting negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

According to the AP, little progress was made during weekend discussions involving Iranian officials and Qatari mediators. By Monday, Rubio had apparently had enough.

One U.S. official told Axios that Rubio concluded the Iranian delegation had “overstayed their welcome,” noting that the General Assembly’s high-level meetings had already concluded. The U.S. mission to the United Nations subsequently informed Iran’s mission that Araghchi and his delegation were required to leave New York immediately.

Araghchi and his delegation departed New York in the early hours of Tuesday.

Iran, however, strongly disputed the American account and denied that its delegation had been thrown out of the country.

“The Iranian delegation left New York on Monday evening, in accordance with the schedule that had also been communicated to the U.S. Department of State in advance on September 17,” Iran’s U.N. delegation said.

“Having achieved nothing, the State Department has resorted to propagating baseless and worthless news.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)