Pezeshkian, Araghchi set to attend UNGA 2026 in New York amid ongoing conflict as US-imposed travel curbs remain

The United States will allow a core Iranian delegation to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City next week, despite the ongoing conflict between Washington and Tehran. A source familiar with the matter said the Iranian delegation will include President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and essential staff members for the UNGA high-level week.

“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 spokesman said. The State Department official said the delegation will be significantly scaled down and subject to tighter travel restrictions and luxury import prohibitions ‘per our policy’. The 81st UNGA is set to take place amid continued military tensions between the United States and Iran, with uncertainty surrounding efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

The disruption of the strategic waterway, through which roughly 20 per cent of global seaborne energy transit passes, has contributed to a sharp increase in global oil prices. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the conflict with Iran is approaching an end. He has also said that his administration has held direct discussions with Iranian officials, although fighting continues in the wider region. Meanwhile, tensions have also intensified around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, where Houthi forces have seized control and fighting has continued in Yemen involving the Saudi-led coalition.

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The decision to allow Iranian officials to enter the United States for the UNGA comes as Washington has again barred Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and dozens of Palestinian Authority (PA) officials from attending the gathering in person. The Trump administration denied visas to Abbas and other PA officials for the second consecutive year. Last year, the visa restrictions meant that the Palestinian president addressed the UN General Assembly virtually instead of attending in person.

The Palestinians will nevertheless be represented at the upcoming high-level UNGA session by diplomats who are already accredited to the United Nations. Without specifically naming Abbas, the State Department announced a wider visa ban affecting officials from the PA and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Washington cited ‘their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace’, the statement said.

In response, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said, “Punitive measures and restrictions imposed on Palestinian officials do not contribute to advancing peace or combating violence', the authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement in response. “Rather, they weaken the Palestinian partner committed to a political solution and encourage forces working to undermine the two-state solution and impose the reality of occupation, settlement and annexation by force.”