Iran refuses to name new envoy to UN after U.S. visa refusal

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran rejected naming a new diplomat Saturday to represent it at the United Nations, with one lawmaker urging the Islamic Republic to stand up to “bullying” from the U.S., which has rejected granting its pick a visa.

The standoff over Hamid Aboutalebi, a member of the group responsible for the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, comes as world powers negotiate with Iran over its contested nuclear program.

The Obama administration said Friday that the U.S. had informed Iran it would not grant a visa to Aboutalebi, suggesting that behind-the-scenes discussions to get them to withdraw him from consideration failed.

On Saturday, Iranian state television anchors discussed the U.S. reject, with a crawl at the bottom of the screen reading: “The Foreign Ministry says Aboutalebi is Iran’s only choice as its U.N. envoy.”

Prominent lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said the U.S. had no right to intervene in Iran’s U.N. envoy pick.

Aboutalebi is alleged to have participated in a Muslim student group that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days during the embassy takeover.