White House national security spokesman John Kirby said President Joe Biden’s administration approved the visa of an Iranian foreign minister at the request of the United Nations (UN).
The U.S. granted Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who reportedly helped plan the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, permission to set foot on U.S. soil to address the UN, Fox News reported. The State Department said the U.S. is “generally obligated” to permit visas to representatives of other countries traveling to UN events.
Kirby told Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich that the U.S. has a responsibility to follow its obligation to the UN by allowing the foreign ministers into the New York City headquarters.
“The Secretary General called a meeting at the foreign ministerial level. He’s the foreign minister of Iran, we are the host of the UN, we take that responsibility seriously,” Kirby said. “Do we particularly like the fact that he’s on U.S. soil? No. But unlike a lot of other countries around the world, we take those responsibilities, those rules seriously. And so, we allowed him to come in to attend these meetings and we hope, quite frankly, we’re certainly gonna take advantage of the opportunity.”
“We hope others at the UN take advantage of the opportunity to ask tough questions of him and what his country’s doing to support these militia groups and what his country’s doing to support Hamas and Hezbollah,” he continued. “This is an opportunity for world leaders up there in New York to make their perspectives and their concerns known directly to the Iranian foreign minister.”
The Biden administration has been under scrutiny for allowing Amir-Abdollahian into the nation at a time when Iranian-backed terror groups are holding Americans hostage and have attacked U.S. servicemembers. Amir-Abdollahian and Iranian security officials also participated in at least two meetings with militant terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah to plan the surprise Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to The Wall Street Journal. (RELATED: ‘Behind Several Countries’: John Kirby Asked Point-Blank Why US Hasn’t Already Evacuated Americans From Israel)
Jason Brodsky, the policy director for the nonprofit United Against Nuclear Iran and a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, said in a Twitter post Wednesday that Amir-Abdollahian “has the blood of Americans on his hands” and never should have been granted a visa.
Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst also condemned the administration for allowing the foreign minister into the US.
“Iran-backed terrorists have attacked our servicemembers and are currently holding Americans hostage. But the Biden administration has granted a top Iranian official a visa — welcoming this regime on U.S. soil with open arms. The appeasement must end,” Ernst wrote on Twitter.