White House bars Iranian officials from US as its diplomatic efforts falter

WASHINGTON - 26 September 2019: The Trump administration barred senior Iranian government officials from entering the United States on Wednesday, just hours after a failed attempt to renew diplomacy with President Hassan Rouhani as he attended an annual gathering of world leaders in New York, The New York Times reported.

The order followed a new round of American economic penalties against China, Iran’s largest oil customer, to further squeeze the Iranian economy and force Tehran into new negotiations to limit its nuclear and military programs.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States was still open to talking to Iran, and hoped to tamp down inflamed tensions after leaders in the United States, Europe and Arab nations blamed Tehran for attacks on oil fields in Saudi Arabia this month.

"We want peace and we want a peaceful resolution," Pompeo said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon with President Trump. "In the end, it will be up to the Iranians to make that decision whether they choose violence and hate."

The White House announced the new travel restrictions on senior Iranian government officials and their family members shortly after the news conference ended. In a statement, it described the Iranian government as a state sponsor of terrorism that threatened the stability of the Middle East and beyond.

It was an extraordinary declaration, given its timing as Rouhani and more than 80 of his top diplomats and aides were in New York attending the annual United Nations General Assembly. However, the travel ban was not expected to force them to leave; the United States generally issues visas to allow foreign leaders to come to United Nations headquarters, but tightly restricts their movements while in New York.