After negotiations faltered, Rubio demanded that the Iranian delegation leave America

Washington - Ofoq News - Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on the Iranian delegation participating in the United Nations General Assembly meetings to leave the country immediately after the negotiations faltered, according to what a US official and another source familiar with the matter said.

Axios quoted an American official as saying: “Secretary Rubio expelled the Iranian delegation, which had exceeded the period permitted for its stay. The work of the United Nations General Assembly had ended, and it was time for them to leave.”

According to Axios, on Monday morning, there was a belief in the White House that progress could be made in the talks with Iran later that day, but by the late afternoon, it became clear that the negotiations had reached a dead end.

On Monday evening, based on Rubio’s orders, the US mission to the United Nations informed its Iranian counterpart of the need for Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi’s delegation to leave New York immediately, according to the US official.

The Iranian delegation - including Araqchi - left for the airport a few hours later, and boarded a plane that departed from New York to Doha at 1:20 a.m. Tuesday.

Axios quoted another source as saying that the United States had demanded the departure of the Iranian delegation, but indicated that Araqchi was scheduled to return to Tehran on Monday night in any case.

Although the Iranian delegation was due to leave soon anyway, Rubio's move represented a highly unusual diplomatic rebuke, revealing the depth of mistrust between the two countries amid fruitless efforts to end the war.