MP Urges Gov't to Avoid Illegal Concessions to US over Abutalebi
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A top Iranian lawmaker insisted that Tehran should not succumb to pressure from Washington, which has denied Iran’s choice for the post of UN ambassador a visa, arguing that a replacement for the new pick is tantamount to illegal concessions to the US.
In an interview with the Tasnim News Agency on Thursday, member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Ebrahim Aqamohammadi urged the country’s diplomatic authorities to move ahead with Hamid Abutalebi as Iran’s new envoy to the UN and not give in to the US pressures.
He underlined that any replacement for the proposed ambassador would spell illegal concessions to the US.
“Iran should follow up on the issue via the legal organizations such as the United Nations, and should not capitulate to such illegal (US) measure,” the lawmaker added.
On April 8, the US Senate voted to bar Abutalebi from the US and the White House said he will not be welcomed in the country, describing his nomination as “not viable”. The House of Representatives unanimously passed the same legislation on April 10.
Afterwards, US President Barack Obama also approved the unusual legislation that had already been passed by the US Congress.
However, under a 1947 law that established the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, the United States is obligated to issue visas to diplomats assigned there, even those it finds objectionable.
