Iran Rejects Report That Rubio Ordered Araghchi Delegation to Leave US Immediately

Iran’s mission to the United Nations has rejected a report that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the Iranian delegation, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, to leave the United States immediately following a deadlock in Washington-Tehran talks.

The Iranian mission said the delegation departed New York on Monday according to its previously scheduled travel arrangements. The mission said the departure plan had already been communicated to the US State Department.

The statement came after Axios reported, citing a US official and another source familiar with the matter, that Rubio had instructed the Iranian delegation to leave the country after negotiations between the two sides stalled.

According to the report, the US side considered the UN General Assembly session to have ended and informed Iran’s UN mission that the delegation should leave New York.

Iran’s UN mission rejected that account, describing the report as baseless and questioning the credibility of information being circulated following the lack of progress in the talks.

The conflicting accounts come as diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran remain stalled, with mediators continuing efforts to keep negotiations on track.