US quietly expels Iran’s deputy UN envoy over national security concerns: Report

The United States quietly expelled Iran’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations late last year over national security concerns, Axios reported on Friday, citing a US official and a source familiar with the matter.

The US State Department reportedly ordered Iranian diplomat Saadat Aghajani to leave the country in early December through a discreet internal process, marking one of at least three expulsions of Iranian diplomats in New York over a six-month period.

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“We can confirm that the United States delivered a Note Verbale on December 4 regarding the status of certain Iranian personnel at the UN,” Axios quoted a State Department official as saying. “For privacy and security reasons, we do not comment on the specifics of diplomatic personnel actions.”

The official added that the move came before protests in Iran and was not related to those events.

The Axios report said Washington used what is known as “section 13 procedures,” an internal mechanism that allows for a quiet expulsion rather than formally declaring a diplomat “persona non grata.”

This process is often used in cases involving suspected espionage or activities deemed contrary to US national security, although no specific allegations against Aghajani were disclosed.

Axios reported that in February, US authorities also asked Aghajani’s children, who remained in New York after his departure, to leave the country.

The expulsions come amid broader restrictions imposed on Iranian diplomats.

In September, the State Department limited the movement of Iranian mission staff to a 25-mile radius from central Manhattan.

At least one of the expelled diplomats had repeatedly violated those restrictions, a US official told Axios.

Two additional, more junior Iranian diplomats were expelled in the months leading up to Aghajani’s removal, according to the report.

Iran’s mission to the UN reportedly declined to comment, according to Axios.

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