The US denied entry visas to two Iranian ministers and other members of the delegation accompanying President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to attend the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, Fars News Agency reported on Saturday.
According to the report, the US State Department refrained from issuing visas for 20 officials of the 160 people for whom the Iranian government had demanded entry visas two months ago.
The US didn't issue visas for two deputies of Iranian President's Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashayee as well as two ministers of President Ahmadinejad's cabinet.
Ahmadinejad and his accompanying delegation left Tehran for New York at the head of a delegation on September 22 in a bid to attend a UN General Assembly meeting and hold talks with senior heads of state who will participate in the meeting.
Over 150 security officers will guarantee President Ahmadinejad's security during his stay in New York.
President Ahmadinejad will address the UN General Assembly which is due to start on September 25. Since taking office, Ahmadinejad has attended all annual UN General Assembly meetings.
This year Ahmadinejad will also attend the meeting as the rotating president of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
He also is also scheduled to attend bilateral talks with several of his counterparts on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting.
Fars reported that Ahmadinejad has also accepted the interview requests made by several news networks, including CNN, CBS and Russia Today (RT).
President Ahmadinejad has, thus far, visited New York seven times to attend the annual UN General Assembly meetings since he ascended to power in 2005.
This will be Ahmadinejad's last visit to attend a UN General Assembly meeting as Iran's president since he will step down presidency in the next 10 months at the end of his second term in office.