The ambassador to the United Nations will take up his post this week after the United States declined to issue a visa to Iran's earlier pick for the job last year, the Associated Press reported.
The spokesman for Iran's mission to the UN, Hamid Babaei, confirmed on Friday that Gholamali Khoshroo will be in New York this week. The United Nations said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will receive Khoshroo's credentials on Tuesday afternoon.
US President Barack Obama signed legislation last April to block Iran's earlier pick, Hamid Aboutalebi, from entering the United States to become Iran's UN ambassador because of his role in a 1979 student takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran. Iran protested, saying the US was setting a dangerous precedent by violating the right of sovereign states to designate representatives to the United Nations.
Khoshroo previously served as deputy foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations.
