NEW YORK — The Trump State Department said Thursday that Iran’s core United Nations General Assembly High Level Week delegation will be allowed into New York next week despite the ongoing U.S.–Iran war, now past the half-year mark since joint U.S.–Israeli attacks began Feb. 28, according to BBC News and NBC News.

The BBC said it understands the permitted core group includes Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. NBC, citing a U.S. source familiar with the decision, likewise reported both men are among those cleared for visas. The Independent reported the same lineup, attributing confirmation of Pezeshkian and Araghchi to U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity because of visa privacy rules.

“Consistent with our host country obligations, the core delegation from the Iranian regime will be able to attend UN General Assembly High Level Week,” a State Department spokesman told the BBC. “The delegation will be under travel restrictions and will face prohibitions on the purchase of luxury and other goods per our policy. The delegation is smaller than last year.”

Those host-country obligations are the institutional hinge: Washington is the UN’s host and routinely limits, rather than bars, hostile governments’ access to the General Debate. The same administration, by contrast, again denied visas to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian delegation — the second consecutive year — the BBC and NBC reported.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott framed the shopping limits in political terms, writing on X that the United States would not let Iranian elites use UNGA for a “luxury retail splurge” while Iranians face shortages, repression and inflation, and warning New York retailers to “be on guard.” Last year’s Iranian attendees were already barred from wholesale clubs such as Costco and required permission for luxury purchases including jewelry, alcohol and cars, the BBC noted.

The 81st General Assembly’s General Debate begins Tuesday. Trump is expected to speak that day; Pezeshkian is expected Wednesday, alongside other heads of state, the BBC reported. NBC noted Trump said Thursday he is weighing whether to “annihilate” the Iranian regime — a separate, escalatory thread that makes the visa decision look less like détente than like host-country machinery grinding on while the war continues.

Dated Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026: core Iranian UNGA High Level Week visas confirmed with travel and luxury-purchase limits; Pezeshkian and Araghchi understood to be included; Palestinian delegation visas denied again; General Debate opens Tuesday.

Sources