By: Carl Schwartzbaum

The Trump administration is considering imposing new restrictions on the movements of the Iranian delegation attending the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, a move that could sharply limit the regime’s ability to take advantage of its presence on American soil. According to a report by the Associated Press, an internal U. S. State Department memo outlines potential measures ranging from tightened geographic restrictions to bans on shopping at membership-based wholesale retailers.

The deliberations come as the administration has already taken the significant step of barring officials from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), including Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, from entering the United States for the UNGA’s high-level debate week beginning Sept. 23. As The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) report noted, the denial of visas to Palestinian officials reflects Washington’s position that these bodies continue to enable terror while seeking to exploit international platforms to delegitimize Israel.

While the United States, as host nation, generally provides visas to foreign delegations attending U. N. meetings, national security exceptions have long been invoked when adversarial states are involved. Iranian officials, in particular, have frequently faced restrictions confining them to a limited zone around U. N. headquarters in midtown Manhattan. This longstanding provision ensures Tehran’s envoys cannot freely travel across the country while enjoying the privileges of diplomatic immunity.

According to the Associated Press, the latest internal memo suggests that the Trump administration is weighing not only maintaining these geographic limits but also introducing new measures aimed at curtailing the perks Iranian diplomats have come to rely on while stationed in the United States. One such proposal involves barring Iranian officials from shopping at popular wholesalers like Costco and Sam’s Club without explicit authorization from the State Department.

As JNS has reported in past coverage, Iranian diplomats have often used their U. S. postings to procure goods that are scarce or prohibitively expensive in sanctions-strapped Iran. By buying in bulk at discount rates, Tehran’s representatives have been able to stockpile consumer products unavailable back home, effectively circumventing the isolation that American and international sanctions are designed to impose.

The Associated Press indicated that the memo also raised the possibility of applying such wholesale-club restrictions to other delegations, including those from Brazil, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. But it is Iran that remains the focal point, given its record of exploiting diplomatic postings for activities far beyond the scope of international engagement.

For the Trump administration, restricting Iranian officials’ access to bulk retailers may be a relatively modest measure, but it carries symbolic weight. As the JNS report highlighted, such a move would reinforce Washington’s broader strategy of denying the regime any avenues—large or small—through which it might blunt the impact of sanctions or present itself as a normal actor on the world stage.

The U. S. role as host nation to the United Nations often creates friction between its international obligations and its national security priorities. While the Headquarters Agreement obliges Washington to allow representatives of member states access to the U. N., the United States has repeatedly argued that this does not grant carte blanche to officials from states designated as sponsors of terrorism.

Past administrations, both Republican and Democratic, have leaned on this interpretation to impose restrictions. However, the Trump administration has made clear its willingness to use the hosting arrangement more aggressively as a lever to counter adversaries and delegitimizers of Israel.