State Department Will Let Iran's Delegation Into New York for UN Meetings While the Two Countries Remain at War

The State Department confirmed this weekend that Iran's official delegation, including senior regime figures, will be allowed into New York for the UN General Assembly's high-level week starting Tuesday, September 22. That's happening while the United States and Iran remain in an active war, according to the Washington Post.

"Consistent with our host country obligations, the core delegation from the Iranian regime will be able to attend UN General Assembly High Level Week," the State Department said in its statement.

The United States is admitting officials from a government it's currently fighting. A reasonable person could ask why Washington would roll out the welcome mat for an adversary's leadership in the middle of a shooting war. The State Department's own answer points to the UN Headquarters Agreement, the decades-old arrangement under which the U.S. as host nation is generally obligated to grant member states' delegations access to UN meetings regardless of bilateral hostilities. Iran's delegation is still traveling under specific restrictions, according to reporting from Inkl.

Iran, for its part, conveyed conditions to end the war through Qatari mediators over the weekend and is now waiting on a response from President Trump, according to Fox News. What those conditions are hasn't been made public.

Trump cut short his stay at Camp David on Saturday, returning to the White House by Marine One around 8 p.m., Fox News reported. The early return comes as his administration weighs its next move in the conflict and finalizes plans for his UN trip.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told reporters Trump's General Debate speech, scheduled for Tuesday, will "touch on the importance of Iran never having a nuclear weapon" and will highlight "many of the peace deals that he has driven to conclusion or is in the process of driving to conclusion," according to Inkl. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to address the Assembly Wednesday, the same day as Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.

Not every delegation is getting in. The Palestinian delegation was denied U.S. visas again this year, Inkl reported, matching what happened in 2025.

Houthi missiles and a sanctions workaround

The Iran angle isn't limited to New York. Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst reported on Houthi missile strikes targeting Riyadh, with flames and smoke visible near the Saudi capital's airport. U.S. embassies across the Middle East issued warnings after the strikes, and Fox reported threats of further attacks from the Iran-backed group.

Separately, Iran's sanctioned Persian Gulf Straits Authority briefly regained secure web access after Shanghai-based TrustAsia issued it a domain-validation SSL certificate, then revoked it four days later, according to global internet monitors cited by Fox News. NetBlocks CEO Alp Toker said the outfit, sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control since May 27, uses that web access to vet vessels and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz. The loss of standard encryption had forced shipping firms toward unencrypted, less secure connections, though no data breach tied to the episode has been confirmed.

Sanctions attorney Jeremy Paner of Hughes Hubbard & Reed urged TrustAsia to review its compliance program before providing further services to the IRGC-linked authority, warning the firm to act "before it is too late." TrustAsia's certificate was reportedly issued through an automated, domain-validation process that typically doesn't involve manual vetting.

Guterres's exit interview

Outgoing UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who leaves office at year's end after nearly a decade, gave a pointed farewell interview to the Associated Press, carried by Breitbart. He said the Security Council is paralyzed and that veto-holding powers are creating a culture of impunity, naming Russia's invasion of Ukraine and "the attacks on Iran by the United States" as his two examples. "Many countries say, 'If superpowers can violate the law, why can't we?'" he said.

Guterres also flagged artificial intelligence, climate change and rising inequality as what he called existential threats requiring global cooperation.

What's on the docket

The General Debate runs September 22-28 under the theme "Restoring trust, managing transformation." Nearly 130 heads of state and government are expected to attend in person, according to People's Daily. Brazil traditionally opens the debate, followed by the United States as host nation. A climate action event is set for September 23, a meeting on sea-level rise for September 24, and a session on pandemic preparedness lessons from COVID-19 for September 25.

Whether Iran's answer to Trump on ending the war comes before, during, or after Pezeshkian's Wednesday speech to the Assembly remains an open question. Neither government has released the terms Tehran relayed through Qatar.