The US has denied a visa to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that would have allowed him to attend the UN Security Council Meeting in New York on Thursday.

Under the 1947 UN "headquarters agreement," the US is generally required to allow access to the UN for foreign diplomats. But Washington says it can deny visas for "security, terrorism, and foreign policy" reasons, Al Jazeera reported.

This decision followed an increase in tension between the two countries after the commander of the Special Forces of Al-Quds of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qasem Soleimani was killed as a result of a US airstrike in the Baghdad airport area on January 3.

Javad Zarif last traveled to the US in September 2019 for the annual gathering of world leaders at the UN – after the US sanctioned him for implementing “the reckless agenda of Iran’s Supreme Leader.”