Trump to address world leaders at United Nations today

One unusual sight at the U.N. General Assembly’s annual sessions is the presence of world leaders who have chilly or even hostile relationships with the United States.

Under a 1947 agreement, the U.S. is generally expected to grant visas to U.N. delegates — even those from U.S. foes — who wish to travel to the organization’s headquarters in Manhattan. But those can be subject to restrictions.

The State Department said Monday that Iranian delegates who are in town for this week’s meetings will only be allowed to access “areas strictly necessary to transit to and from the UN headquarters district to conduct their official UN business.” Iranian officials are also barred from accessing luxury goods or club stores, according to a statement from the department.

“We will not allow the Iranian regime to allow its clerical elites to have a shopping spree in New York while the Iranian people endure poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and dire shortages of water and electricity,” the statement read.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to travel to New York for this week’s meetings, Iran’s government has said.

Last month, the State Department said it would deny visas to members of the Palestinian Authority, which is a U.N. observer rather than a full-fledged member. The department cited national security and accused the organization of “undermining the prospects for peace.” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will address the General Assembly in a video.

The Israel-Hamas war is sure to be a frequent topic in this week’s speeches. Last week, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution that calls for a phased end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and pushes for the creation of a Palestinian state.

As frustration with the war grows, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada formally recognized a Palestinian state over the weekend, and France followed suit at a U.N. meeting on Monday.

The Trump administration disagrees, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling those U.S. allies’ recognition of a Palestinian state “just more talk and not enough action.”

French President Emmanuel Macron announced over the summer that he would recognize a Palestinian state, and he said on Monday that France had done so. In an interview last week with CBS News’ Margaret Brennan, he argued the move could disempower Hamas. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called the move “reckless,” a reaction Macron called “excessive.”

Also, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is set to speak on Tuesday, after Israel targeted Hamas leaders in a strike on the Qatari capital of Doha earlier this month. Qatar condemned the move, and Mr. Trump criticized it.

This week’s U.N. General Assembly meeting is the first public test for Mike Waltz, who was approved by the Senate only last week to be the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. 

The U.S. has gone without a confirmed ambassador to the U.N. since the start of Mr. Trump’s second term as president. Mr. Trump originally nominated Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who gave up her role in congressional leadership for the job, but the president pulled her nomination in March, saying he needed her in Congress due to the GOP’s razor-thin majority. 

Waltz previously served as Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, but he was replaced in that role by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May.

The U.N. General Assembly includes all United Nations member states. As the U.N.’s primary deliberative body, its members consider and vote on recommendations to tackle major world issues, ranging from climate change to human rights. Its resolutions are often nonbinding.

The body meets every year, starting in September. This year’s sessions are also marked by the 80th anniversary of the United Nations’ founding.

The U.N. says the theme for the general debate of this session is “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.”