Press TV reports:
An Iranian press delegation slated to accompany President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his upcoming visit to New York have been denied US visas.
The US government has refused to issue visas for the Iranian press delegation that was scheduled to cover the president's trip to New York and his participation in a nuclear conference, Mehr News Agency reported on Sunday.
Ahmadinejad, who is to attend the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference at the United Nations headquarters, left for New York on Sunday as the head of Iran's high-ranking delegation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Senior Presidential Advisor Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi, Chief of staff Esfandyar Rahim-Mashae, and the Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi will accompany Ahmadinejad during the visit.
Ahmadinejad is scheduled to be the third speaker on Friday, coming after the opening statement by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and a representative from the Non-Aligned Movement.
The twice-a-decade conference aims to monitor the global progress in fulfilling disarmament obligations set out in the 40-year old treaty.
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Commentary: this is not only about freedom of the press, or about Obama's puppets being imperial Fascists. This is also about how absolutely mind-bogglingly *STUPID* and infantile US politicians are. Seriously - what have they achieved with this ban on visas for Iranian journalists?! It's not like this will prevent them from covering the event, and you can be darn sure that this idiotic decision of Uncle Shmuel will further increase the hate that most Iranians feel for the American political system (not its people, though). Will this decision affect Ahmadinejad himself? Of course not. The man is already quite used to a basic lack of diplomatic culture in the US and he expects no less. If anything, it will only strengthen his resolve. So it is rather clear that all this is a a pathetic, illiterate and infantile attempt by the "Israel first" crowd in the Department of State to "do something" against Iran. Well, I say let them. It only serves to illustrate their weakness and idiocy.
The Saker