No cameras, no comms team, but the President still lands in New York. Why Washington has clipped Iran's wings just days before the big UN speech.

In a move Tehran is calling "unprecedentedly hostile," the US has refused visas for members of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's delegation - specifically his communications and media team - for this week's trip to New York, according to state agency IRNA.

Pezeshkian will still travel. He'll be the highest-ranking Iranian official to set foot in the States since the Middle East war erupted in February following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran. He is due to address the 81st UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

It's about who gets to tell the story. Without his own press team, Pezeshkian's coverage in the US will be severely limited. It is a classic diplomatic squeeze.

The war is now in its seventh month. It has driven up global energy prices and spilt over as Iran retaliated against US bases in the region.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who left Tehran on Sunday via Qatar, is part of the core team that did get visas.

Washington says it is meeting its host country obligations. A State Department spokesman said the "core delegation will be able to attend High Level Week" but with a scaled-down size and tighter curbs - just like last year.

That includes a ban on buying luxury goods and a strict travel radius in New York.

Under the 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement, the US, as host, must generally allow member states to attend the UNGA, but it can restrict numbers and movement on security grounds. Denying the PR team is allowed; denying the head of state is not.

And there is a bigger chessboard. Iran says it has sent conditions via Qatar to reopen the Strait of Hormuz - the world's most critical oil and gas shipping lane, which it has choked off since February. The US has responded with a counter-blockade of Iranian ports. New York is now the unlikely back-channel.

All eyes on Wednesday. Will Pezeshkian use the UN podium to offer a Hormuz deal, or double down? And will his sideline meetings with world leaders and US think-tanks happen without his own media lens?

For cbinews.tv, it is a reminder that at the UN, visas are also weapons.

Source: Cbinewstv

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