PA Foreign Ministry calls US visa ban ‘punitive measures’

The U.N. General Assembly voted 152 in favor and three against on Thursday to allow Abbas to address the assembly via a pre-recorded statement, after the State Department declined to grant visas to PA officials — including Abbas — for a second consecutive year.

Similar visa rejections were reportedly issued to dozens of other PA officials seeking to attend the gathering, according to UPI.

The PA Foreign Ministry criticized the US ban on Thursday, accusing Washington of targeting the authority with “punitive measures” that “do not contribute to advancing peace or combating violence.”

The Palestinian visa denials came one day after the State Department confirmed it had approved visas for Iran’s “core delegation,” which is to include Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, NBC News reported.

“Consistent with our host country obligations, the core delegation from the Iranian regime will be able to attend U.N. General Assembly High-Level Week,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.

A department statement said the delegation “will be under travel restrictions and will face prohibitions on the purchase of luxury and other goods per our policy.”

In an online statement, Pigott said the Iranian delegation will be barred from shopping and warned New York retailers to “be on guard” against purchases by Iranian officials. “While ordinary Iranians endure brutal repression, water and electricity shortages and soaring inflation, the regime’s officials want to go on shopping sprees in New York. Not on our watch,” he said in the statement.

He added: “We will not let the Iranian regime’s elites exploit UNGA for a luxury retail splurge paid for by the Iranian people’s suffering, all while the regime funnels Iran’s wealth to support its terrorist proxies. The U.S. will continue to ban Iranian UN mission officials, visiting officials and their dependents from buying wholesale club memberships or luxury goods.”

The Iranian announcement comes amid a stalemate in the Iran-US war over the Strait of Hormuz, according to UPI. Washington is seeking to regain freedom of navigation of the vital energy route, while Tehran is fighting to maintain control over which vessels get to transit the strait.

The High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly runs from Tuesday through September 29, with the General Debate serving as the diplomatic centerpiece.