US media: US expelled an Iranian deputy permanent representative to the United Nations last year for security reasons.

The United States Axios News Network reported on the 3rd, citing sources, that in December of last year, the US State Department, citing "national security", expelled an Iranian deputy permanent representative to the United Nations. This was one of at least three incidents of expelling Iranian diplomats in New York in the past 6 months. The report stated that in early December last year, the US State Department issued a formal communication to the Iranian permanent mission to the United Nations, demanding that the Iranian deputy permanent representative, Saadat Agajani, leave the country immediately. The US decision was not made public at the time. According to the report, the US requested Agajani to leave the country based on the "Article 13 procedure", which the State Department usually uses for foreign diplomats suspected of engaging in espionage activities or activities harmful to US interests or national security. So far, the US has not made specific accusations against Agajani. In the two months prior to Agajani's expulsion, at least two other diplomats from the Iranian delegation were also expelled. The report also stated that a US State Department official said that this expulsion "took place long before the protests in Iran and is not related to those events".