Ahmadinejad Chickens Out of UN Appearance

Looks like the hairy little munchkin got cold feet and is using some lame excuse about visas for his flight crew not being ready in time.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has canceled his trip to New York to address the U.N. Security Council before a vote on whether to impose further sanctions against his country for refusing to stop enriching uranium, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday.

Mohammed Ali Hosseini, the spokesman, told Iranian state television that the trip was scrapped because of "America's obstruction in issuing visas" to the Iranian delegation that was to travel to New York.

A diplomat on the Security Council said Ahmadinejad would instead send his deputy foreign minister Saturday to address the Security Council before the vote. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because there had not been an official announcement.

Just one problem with that story: visas indeed were issued.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier claimed on Iranian state-run radio that the U.S. government had not issued a visa for Ahmadinejad.

But Daniel Wendell, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Switzerland said Ahmadinejad's and other Iranian officials' passports had been handed over in Bern on Friday. Another 31 other passports for support staff were to ready later in the day. The passports would then be taken by courier to Tehran in time for the Iranians to fly to New York.

Zarif told reporters "the visas for (Ahmadinejad's) crew were not ready yet."

Weak. Very weak.

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