A limited number of members of the Iranian regime entered the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly. Their presence was tied to the international gathering, but some members of the delegation remained after the proceedings ended.
The General Assembly concluded on September 28. A small Iranian delegation stayed behind, supposedly to take part in additional negotiations rather than promptly leaving the country.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio made clear that their time in the United States was over. He said the delegation had “overstayed their welcome” and ordered [1] its members out of the country.
The entire delegation was instructed to leave on Monday. Despite that order, two Iranian diplomats reportedly remained in New York after the others were supposed to be gone.
That did not escape the attention of American officials. The United States informed Iran’s mission to the United Nations that it knew the two diplomats had failed to leave as directed.
The message was not another invitation to negotiate or an opening for delay. The diplomats were told to get out immediately, putting an abrupt end to any apparent effort to remain in New York.
A U.S. official described the administration’s response to Fox News Digital in blunt terms. “Secretary Rubio means business.”
The official said two additional members of the Iranian delegation had been found in New York long after the United Nations General Assembly had passed. According to the official, they were then kicked out of the country.
The departures followed soon afterward. Fox News Digital reported that one of the diplomats left Friday night, while the other departed Saturday morning.
The two diplomats apparently believed they could get around the demand that the delegation leave. Instead, they discovered that Rubio was not treating the order as an optional suggestion.
Their continued presence was also being monitored while they remained on American soil. Once officials determined that the diplomats were still in New York, the response was immediate and unmistakable.
JUST IN: Sec. Marco Rubio just KICKED OUT two more members of Iran’s UN delegation from the United States, per Axios
They reportedly IGNORED Rubio’s order Monday that Iran’s entire delegation leave the country immediately
“Secretary Rubio means business.”
MARCO DOES NOT F AROUND
They should feel lucky they even got here in the first place!
Maybe next time we should give them the Palestine treatment and not let them in AT ALL
Good riddance. Should make a deal and surrender! https://t.co/QO3U7gyawG
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 3, 2026 [2]
Rubio had already torn into the Iranian delegation during its time in the United States. He made clear that representatives of the regime had no standing to lecture Americans.
President Donald Trump also took aim at the Iranian regime during a campaign rally in Alabama on Friday night. Speaking to an audience in Mobile, Trump mocked the regime’s leadership troubles after one of its leaders spoke out.
“They lost one set of leaders. Then they lost another set of leaders,” Trump told the crowd.
He continued, “Then they lost half of a third set, and they had a little runoff for who wants to be president and there were no participants. Everyone said, ‘I don’t, I don’t want to be,’”
Trump then turned his attention to the basic question of who could even speak for Iran. “And it’s part of our problem. I don’t know who the hell to deal with.”
The president kept pressing the point, saying, “There’s nobody to deal with. Nobody wants to be president, I’d say ‘Who do I speak to in Iran?’”
WATCH:
US President Donald Trump bragged to voters in Mobile, Alabama that American forces had killed almost three sets of Iranian leaders and that inadvertently caused him problems because “I don’t know who the hell to deal with!”
According to Trump, no one is interesting in ruling Iran in case he kills them.
“Knock, knock. Nobody’s home.”
— The War Journal (@TheWarJournal) October 3, 2026 [3]
Trump finished the mockery by portraying the regime as having nobody available to answer. His remarks offered a sharp public rebuke as Rubio’s State Department was forcing the remaining Iranian diplomats to leave.
The episode left little room for confusion about the American demand. Two diplomats remained after the delegation was ordered out, officials noticed, and both were ultimately removed from the country.
The Iranian regime now faces a stark choice presented by its own conduct and instability. It can get its act together, or it can continue moving toward collapse while American officials refuse to indulge its representatives.