Iran has formally protested Washington's refusal to grant a visa to its new UN ambassador.
Iran's UN Mission sent a letter to the UN's Committee on Relations with the Host Country and released a copy of it last night. The committee can hold a hearing on the issue but cannot change the US decision.
The US State Department and White House have said that Iran's selection of Hamid Aboutalebi to be its United Nations envoy is not acceptable.
Aboutalebi was a member of the group responsible for the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Aboutalebi has insisted his involvement in the group was limited to translation and negotiation.
