The United States says it has "kicked out" two members of Iran's delegation to the UN General Assembly in New York. A US official told AFP the two were found still in the country long after the session ended, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio "means business."

According to Axios, the State Department had told Iran's UN mission on September 28 that the whole delegation should leave immediately after indirect talks with US officials made little progress. When two diplomats were still in New York on Friday, they were told to leave again. One departed Friday night and the other left Saturday morning.

Iran disputes the American account. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that all Iranian diplomats left as scheduled, calling the expulsion claim "fake" and inconsistent with US obligations as the UN host nation.

The row comes as diplomatic efforts to end the US-Iran war stay stalled. The two sides met on the sidelines of the General Assembly, but talks on the Strait of Hormuz, the conflict and Iran's nuclear programme produced no breakthrough. Each side is now telling a different story about what happened in New York.

Sources: azernews.az; newsmax.com; theleaders-online.com.