The United States last December expelled Iran's deputy ambassador to the United Nations over national security concerns, Axios reported.
The diplomat, Saadat Aghajani, was asked to leave the country under "Section 13 Procedures," an internal mechanism used to arrange a diplomat's departure without formally declaring them persona non grata.
"We can confirm that the United States delivered a Note Verbale on December 4 regarding the status of certain Iranian personnel at the UN. For privacy and security reasons, we do not comment on the specifics of diplomatic personnel actions," a State Department official told Axios.
This action occurred well before the protests in Iran and is unrelated to those events, the official added.
Aghajani's children, who remained in New York after his departure, were asked to leave the U.S. in February. At least two more junior diplomats were also expelled.
The report comes as the war in Iran has entered its second month.
More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran during the war, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel. More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, while 13 U.S. service members have been killed.
More than 1,300 people have been killed and more than 1 million have been displaced in Lebanon. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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