Iran: Iran denies US expulsion claim, says departure was pre-planned.

Shotlist Washington D.C., USA - Sept 24, 2026 1. Various of White House; U.S. national flags FILE: Washington D.C., USA - October 2024 2. Various of Capitol building; traffic Washington D.C., USA - Sept 24, 2026 3. Cityscape FILE: Tehran, Iran - Aug 24, 2026 4. Various of national flags of Iran; traffic; pedestrians Strait of Hormuz - Sept 8, 2026 5. Various of vessels at sea Storyline Iran on Wednesday rejected U.S. account of how its negotiating team left the United States, saying the delegation's departure from New York was arranged well in advance and accusing the U.S. State Department of spreading baseless claims. In a statement released on Wednesday, Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations said the delegation left New York on Monday evening, and that the U.S. State Department had been informed of the schedule as early as September 17. The mission argued that after walking away from the talks with nothing, the U.S. State Department had spread groundless and worthless stories. The response came after Axios reported that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had ordered the Iranian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, to leave the country immediately after negotiations deadlocked on Monday, with neither side willing to concede. The outlet described the move as "a highly unusual diplomatic rebuke" reflecting the "deep distrust between the two nations". According to Iran's IRNA news agency, Araghchi departed New York on Tuesday and returned to Tehran. Meanwhile, sources in the Middle East said mediator Qatar is still in contact with both the U.S. and Iran, working to find a compromise formula to break the impasse. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland/Israel Media/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda]