House Votes to Deny Visa to Iranian Envoy Linked to ’79 Hostage Crisis
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Version 0 of 1. The House on Thursday unanimously passed legislation approved by the Senate aimed at denying a visa to Iran’s choice for United Nations ambassador. The vote sent what sponsors called a blunt rejoinder to the Iranian government for having selected a nominee who played a role, however minor, in the 1979 American hostage crisis in Tehran. The legislation, which goes to President Obama for signature, reflected the raw political nerves rubbed by the nominee, Hamid Aboutalebi, a veteran diplomat who has said he once worked as an interpreter for the revolutionary student group that seized the United States Embassy and held 52 Americans for 444 days. The Obama administration had already signaled its opposition to Mr. Aboutalebi, informing the Iranian government that the choice was “not viable,” while stopping short of denying him a visa or taking a position on the legislation. But the strong bipartisan approval of the legislation appeared to leave Mr. Obama with little choice but to sign the measure, potentially opening a new rift in the troubled relationship between the United States and Iran just as the countries are working on an agreement over the disputed Iranian nuclear program. Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, and Representative Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Republican, were sponsors of the legislation, which faced no opposition in the normally divided Congress. The unanimity underscored the domestic political liabilities of looking weak on Iran, which many Democrats and Republicans have described as a malevolent adversary, despite the administration’s efforts to ease tensions in recent months. “It is great to see Congress send a strong, bipartisan message that Iranian evildoers will be treated like terrorists, not tourists,” Mr. Lamborn said in a statement on his website after the legislation passed. Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, an American-educated diplomat who once held the post of United Nations ambassador, had signaled before the House vote that Mr. Aboutalebi remained Iran’s choice. “We have told the Americans that we have introduced one of the most experienced, logical and ambassadorial individuals, who has embassy experience in several countries, including Italy, Belgium and Australia,” Mr. Zarif said Wednesday in Vienna, where the latest round of nuclear talks was held. Mr. Zarif also said, “Extremist groups should not be in the position to determine who Iran chooses for the United Nations.” Although the United States is obliged, as the host of the United Nations, to provide foreign diplomats with access, the State Department has asserted that American law permits it to deny visas to those deemed a threat to national security or American policy, categories that can be broadly interpreted. Some American specialists on Iran said that despite the sharp language, they did not foresee the dispute over Mr. Aboutalebi sabotaging the broader efforts aimed at achieving a nuclear agreement. Cliff Kupchan, an Iran analyst at the Eurasia Group, a political risk consulting firm in Washington, said, “We expect diplomatic bickering for the next couple weeks, probably followed by a new nomination from Iran.” |