Not This Time: United States Secretly Expels Iranian Diplomat from UN

The United States has expelled Iran’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Saadat Aghajani. He was expelled since December 2026 on national security grounds. Initially, the US expelled Aghajani after the US State Department sent an official notification to the Iranian mission at the UN in New York. As reported by Axios on Friday (3/4). This procedure is generally carried out in cases suspected to involve national security or activities not in line with diplomatic duties. The US did not publicise the charges against Aghajani. However, the expulsion of the Iranian diplomat from the UN was based on an internal mechanism. The diplomat was asked to leave without being officially declared persona non grata or an unwanted person. According to the Axios report, Aghajani’s children were allowed to continue schooling in New York and will leave the US in February 2027. In addition to Aghajani, two other Iranian diplomats were expelled from Uncle Sam’s country. “The US issued a Verbal Note on 4 December regarding the status of certain Iranian personnel at the UN. For privacy and security reasons,” said a US State Department official. US authorities also restricted Iranian diplomats’ travel within a 25-mile (approximately 40-kilometre) radius around Manhattan. One Iranian diplomat was expelled for violating that restriction. Thus, over the past six months, three Iranian diplomats have been expelled from the US.