Iran Not Considering Alternative Pick for UN Ambassador

Iran said on Saturday it will not choose another envoy for the UN post after the U.S. announced it will not issue a visa to Iranian diplomat Hamid Aboutalebi for his involvement in the 1979 U.S. embassy takeover in Tehran.

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Mehr News Agency last night that, “We are not considering an alternative pick.” Tehran also said it was considering legal options over the dispute with the U.S.

Aboutalebi has acknowledged that he served a limited role as a translator for the students who took the Americans hostage, but was not involved in the embassy takeover.

File photo: Iranian diplomat Hamid Aboutalebi (Getty Images/IRNA)

U.S. Will Not Issue Visa to Iran’s New UN Envoy – White House

The Obama administration will not issue a diplomatic visa to Iran’s new ambassador to the United Nations, the White House press secretary Jay Carney said today. (AP, 11 April)

The administration opposes the selection of diplomat Hamid Aboutalebi because of his ties to the student group that took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 52 American hostages in 1979. The State Department has informed Iranian officials and the U.N. that the U.S. will not issue visa to allow Aboutalebi to take his post in New York.

Photo credit: White House press secretary Jay Carney speaking to reporters, 11 April 2014. (Charles Dharapak/AP) 

Thousands rally against Rouhani's outreach effort to U.S.

On the anniversary of the student takeover of the U.S. embassy in 1979, tens of thousands of Iranians rallied in a demonstration against Presdient Rouhani's outreach effort to the United States, reflective of a dynamic political environment within the country.

Patriotic young Iranians in support of the Islamic Republic

Pious woman supporters of the Islamic Republic

Iranian men representative of the majority socio-economic class that constitute core support for the Islamic Republic

Young Student Basij officer cadet

Politically active coed high school students 

Photos: Ashraf Tabarabei, Sina Shiri, Morteza Rafikhan at Fars News Agency