TheCable

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foriegn minister, says the US denied him visa needed to attend a UN meeting in New York.

According to France 24, Zarif said he was informed of US’s decision by Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general.

The foreign minister said he learnt that Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state, expressly told Guterres that they would not issue him a visa.

“What we know is that the US State Secretary (Mike Pompeo), in a call to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said: ‘We did not have time to issue a visa for Mohammad Javad Zarif and we will not issue a visa’,” Zarif was quoted as saying.

“The secretary-general responded by saying that it is Iran’s right to take part in this session.”

The development is coming days after Iran vowed to deal with the US for killing Qasem Soleimani, leader of the Quds Force.

But US President Donald Trump has also threatened to hit back hard if the Iranians retaliate.

Trump said apart from spending about $2 trillion on military hardware, the US has identified 52 targets to hit if the Iranians strike back.

Since the killing of Soleimani last week, tension has escalated in the Middle East following protests on the streets of Tehran in Iran and Baghdad in Iraq.

The protesters have called on Iran to avenge the late general’s death.