Trump administration grants visas to top Iranian leaders to attend U.N. General Assembly

The Trump administration will allow an Iranian delegation to attend the United Nations General Assembly next week, albeit with some restrictions, a State Department spokesperson said Thursday.

The decision to grant Iranian top officials visas to travel to New York City for the annual meeting of global leaders comes seven months into the U.S. war with Iran.

“Consistent with our host country obligations, the core delegation from the Iranian regime will be able to attend U.N. General Assembly High Level Week,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The delegation will be under travel restrictions and will face prohibitions on the purchase of luxury and other goods per our policy.”

The Iranian delegation’s trip comes at a sensitive time, as the U.S. military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have continued attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which some 20% of the world’s oil flowed before the war.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is considering resuming full-scale attacks against Iran.

“I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It’s a big decision. Anything could happen with me,” Trump told Axios.

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world