"Given the coordination made, the president will most likely leave Tehran for New York on September 21 to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting," Director-General of the Presidential Office for International Affairs Mohammad Reza Forqani told FNA on Sunday.
Meantime, he informed of some possible minute changes in the president's itinerary, saying that the date of President Ahmadinejad's departure might be changed to September 20 or 22.
The official reminded that the US, which hosts the UN headquarters, makes some problems for Iranian officials when they apply for receiving entry visas to visit New York for a UN General Assembly meeting each year, but meantime added that those who have a political passport, including the President himself, would not and should not face any problem for receiving the visas, and these are other members of the Iranian delegation, who carry personal passports, that might face problems in this regard.
"Yet, they (Americans) have promised to give us all the visas by Tuesday," Forqani added.
According to the UN rules as well as the regulations of the agreement signed between the world body and the US, Washington is required to grant entry visas to all foreign delegations who plan to visit the UN headquarters in the US.
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. But this time, he will attend the meeting not just as Iran's President, but as leader of the 120-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
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.
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Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will leave for New York at the head of a delegation next week to attend a UN General Assembly meeting.
News ID 182729
