US Visa Restrictions Put Iranian Diplomats, Families In 'Inhumane' Conditions - Zarif

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2019) The United States has put restrictions on the movements of Iranian diplomats that amount to "inhumane" treatment of the envoys and their families, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday.

"Well, it is certainly not a friendly action, it puts the members of the mission and the families under, basically, inhumane conditions," Zarif told reporters at the United Nations.

Zarif and other Iranian delegates arrived in New York over the weekend to attend the annual high-level meeting of United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that he issued visas that restrict the movements of Zarif and the other visiting diplomats to the UN headquarters, Iran's mission in New York and the nearby residence of the Iranian UN ambassador.

Pompeo told the Washington Post in an interview on Sunday that because "US diplomats don't roam around Tehran," the United States sees no need to allow Iranian envoys to "roam freely.

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Zarif said the US limitations were personally not very inconvenient, since they did not impede his work, which is being conducted only within the three buildings he is allowed to visit.

According to the Headquarters Agreement between the United Nations and the United States, the host country should not impose any obstacles on the movement to or from the headquarters district of representatives or officials from UN member states traveling to the United States to attend the organization's events.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been steadily escalating since May 2018, when the United States abruptly pulled out of the landmark Iran nuclear deal and began reimposing sanctions on the Islamic republic.

In June, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the Trump administration would soon impose sanctions against Zarif, though such an action has not yet been taken.