The White House has reportedly refused to issue a US visa to Iran’s UN envoy choice Hamid Aboutalebi.
The decision in effect bars Hamid Aboutalebi, who was involved in seizure of the US embassy in 1979, from taking up the role at the UN, which is based in New York, the BBC reported.
Aboutalebi was reportedly linked with the student group that stormed the US embassy in Tehran, taking dozens of US diplomats hostage.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Iran’s mission to the UN, Hamid Babaei said that the decision was “regrettable,” adding that it contravened international law.
While the US House of Representatives and the Senate have both voted in favour of a bill barring Aboutalebi from the US, it still requires the signature of US president Barack Obama before it can become law, the report added. (ANI)