A dispute over the departure of Iranian diplomats from the United States has intensified, with Washington saying two members of Iran’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly were forced to leave after ignoring a U.S. order, while Tehran strongly disputes the account.

A U.S. official said Saturday that two Iranian delegates remained in New York several days after the State Department had instructed Iran’s UN mission to have its entire delegation leave the country. According to the official, one diplomat departed Friday night and the other left Saturday morning.

“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,” the official said.

The reported expulsions followed an earlier dispute over Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s order for Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation to leave New York. U.S. officials said the directive came after indirect negotiations involving Washington and Tehran made little progress. Iran, however, has maintained that its delegation’s departure had been scheduled in advance.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected the latest U.S. account in a post on X, saying the Iranian diplomats who attended the General Assembly departed according to schedule.

“All Iranian diplomats who attended UNGA, except one who departed earlier, left as scheduled,” Araghchi said.

He also challenged the characterization of the departures as an expulsion.

“Taking pride in fake diplomat “expulsion” is inappropriate for the head of any diplomatic corps. It oozes of desperation and defeat, and is inconsistent with UN host nation obligations.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei separately rejected the U.S. account, calling it an effort to portray the situation as an American diplomatic achievement.

“In my view, they are trying to manufacture an achievement through lies,” Baghaei said. “What they claimed is an absolute falsehood.”

Baghaei said Iran had communicated its delegation’s travel arrangements to U.S. authorities ahead of time.

“It was clear from the outset on what date the honorable foreign minister’s delegation would leave New York,” Baghaei said.

Regarding one of the diplomats who remained in New York longer, Baghaei acknowledged that the individual left following pressure from the United States but disputed that this amounted to an expulsion.

“Because of the pressure they exerted, yes, that diplomat left New York,” Baghaei said. “But in all other respects, we left New York according to the plans that had been made in advance.”

The Iranian spokesman also accused Washington of violating its responsibilities as host country for the United Nations.

“This is itself an admission of a violation of the obligations by the host country,” he said.

“There is absolutely nothing to be proud of in the US boasting about violating its commitments as the host country,” Baghaei added.

Baghaei further argued that Washington had failed to prevent Iran’s delegation from participating in the General Assembly and had therefore turned to what he characterized as exaggerated reporting about the diplomats’ departure.

“It seems that after the US failed to prevent the participation of the Iranian delegation in the United Nations and could not implement its plan to portray Iran as isolated, it has resorted to such very low-level news-making,” he said.

“In my view, it is not even worth giving much attention to.”

The dispute comes as diplomatic tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high and efforts to end the conflict have encountered significant obstacles. Araghchi participated in diplomatic meetings in New York, including indirect contacts involving U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, while regional mediators have continued efforts to bridge differences between the two sides.

The conflicting accounts leave the central issue disputed: U.S. officials characterize the departures of the two remaining diplomats as expulsions after they failed to comply with a departure order, while Iranian officials say their delegation largely followed previously established travel plans and reject Washington’s description of the episode.