White House denies visa to Iranian hostage-taker

Hot Air ^ | April 11, 2014 | Ed Morrissey

[C19fan]

The White House announced today that it would refuse to issue a visa to Hamid Aboutalebi, the Iranian envoy to the United Nations, over his connection to the 1979 hostage crisis in Tehran. Aboutalebi belonged to the “student group” who seized Americans from the US embassy despite having diplomatic immunity, and the Iranian government held them captive for 444 days:

[C19fan]

This and the Congressional resolution seems all symbolic as a condition of the US hosting the UN is it cannot restrict which representatives a country sends there.

[ConservativeMan55]

Then he should be arrested immediately after stepping on our soil

[C19fan]

No can do as he has diplomatic immunity.

[BuffaloJack]

Give him the visa and arrest him the instant his foot ouches US soil.

[Beagle8U]

Great! Now they can move the UN to Shitholistan if they don’t like it!

[PGR88]

Better yet - give him a visa, and when he lands, arrest him.

[ConservativeMan55]

Didn’t every hotel and business refuse gadafy and he had to sleep outside lol

[tanknetter]

So did the people he helped take hostage.

Turnabout is fair play. Arrest him and pack him off to Gitmo.

[TexasCajun]

Great bipartisan bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Oh, wait... never mind.

[GeronL]

you can expel diplomats

[C19fan]

I wonder if that applies to the UN. IF this scum was assigned to be ambassador from Iran to the US then the US can say No.

[Cyber Liberty]

Diplomatic Immunity is not absolute. If he commits a major Felony, for example Kidnapping, he is not immune.

He is an admitted kidnapper of American citizens, so his immunity is very weak.

[Gaffer]

Immunity from arrest, prosecution, etc. while he is HERE. Diplomatic status does nothing with respect to whether he is allowed in this country to start with. He can be prevented and expelled if need be. It just takes the balls to do it. We’ll see why Obama felt he had to do this.

[BitWielder1]

The White House denies the visa?

I thought it was due to a bill from the senate:
Earlier this week, the Senate unanimously passed a bill backed by Ted Cruz and Chuck Schumer
that would have forced the White House to refuse the visa request...

Is the WH trying to take credit for this?
If it was up to 0bama, Hamid would have been welcomed with a ticker-tape parade.

[vette6387]

“Great! Now they can move the UN to Shitholistan if they don’t like it!”

Don’t give them a choice, just tell them that the’ve got “X” number of months to move the HQ out of our country and tell them that BTW we are halving our “support contributions”

[SunkenCiv]

It was either that or impeachment. Thanks C19fan.

[353FMG]

“....UN to Shitholistan....”

Where it should have always been located.

This anti-American organization has always had its headquarters in the very country it despises but depends on.