The United States said that Iran's foreign minister can visit the regime's ailing UN ambassador at a New York hospital only if Tehran releases an American citizen.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is in New York for the annual UN gathering of world leaders, had hoped to visit Iran's UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi as he is being treated for cancer and requested permission from the State Department, diplomats at the United Nations said. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue has not been made public.
The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on Zarif that severely limit where he can go in New York City. The State Department confirmed Friday that the Iranian foreign minister wants to visit "a colleague who is in the hospital receiving world class care."