TEHRAN, May 25 (ANI) — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s planned visit to New York has been canceled due to US visa complications encountered during travel preparations, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
As a result, the top Iranian diplomat will not participate in the upcoming high-level United Nations Security Council session.
The diplomatic dispute over travel permissions comes at a sensitive moment, as back-channel negotiations between Tehran and Washington continue to face obstacles. Iran has expressed frustration over what it described as constantly shifting US positions during ongoing diplomatic efforts to end hostilities, warning that the changing stance is complicating negotiations.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei voiced the criticism during a weekly media briefing Monday.
Addressing reporters, Baqaei said negotiators have managed to reach common ground on several issues but cautioned against assuming that a final agreement is imminent.
“It is correct that we have reached conclusions on a large portion of the discussion topics, but to say that this means the signing of an imminent agreement is something no one can claim. The frequent changes in the positions of American officials complicate every negotiation,” Baqaei said.
The spokesperson also emphasized that the current discussions remain narrowly focused on ending the conflict and do not yet include detailed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
“The focus of the negotiations is on ending the war, and at this stage, we are not discussing details of the nuclear issue,” Baqaei said, according to the semi-official Iranian news agency ISNA.
Baqaei added that the immediate priority remains achieving a cessation of hostilities, while technical discussions regarding the nuclear issue have been deferred for now.
The remarks from Tehran came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a more optimistic assessment earlier Monday, saying active efforts are underway to establish a peace framework between the two countries.
Rubio stressed that Washington is pursuing a strong agreement and said President Donald Trump would not approve an unfavorable deal.
“We’re still a work in progress,” Rubio told reporters. “I think there is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the straits, get the straits open, and enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on nuclear matters. And hopefully we can pull it off.”
Rubio also said regional Gulf allies support the diplomatic process and described a peaceful resolution as “the right thing for the world to get done.”
At the same time, he reiterated the US administration’s position that Washington is under no pressure to quickly conclude negotiations.
“As the president said, he’s not in a hurry, he’s not going to make a bad deal. We’re going to give diplomacy every chance to succeed before we explore the alternatives.
“We’re either going to have a good agreement or we’re going to have to deal with it another way. We’d prefer to have a good agreement,” Rubio said.
The latest diplomatic developments follow comments made Sunday by President Trump, who said any future agreement with Tehran would differ significantly from deals negotiated during former President Barack Obama’s administration.
Trump also stated that the United States would not “rush into a deal” with Iran to resolve the broader West Asia crisis and said the US “blockade” on Iranian ports would remain in “full force and effect” until a formal agreement is finalized, verified, and signed by both sides. (ANI)
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