Iran’s president is slated to host a private, invitation-only event with political influencers in New York City next week on the sidelines of the United Nations’ annual gathering, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to hold "an off the record meeting" with high-profile political insiders and analysts on Monday afternoon at the Millennium Hilton Hotel, near the U.N. headquarters in downtown New York City. An invitation to the event, obtained by the Free Beacon, was sent out last week by Iran’s permanent representative to the U.N., ahead of Raisi’s arrival in the United States.
It is one of at least three private events Raisi is scheduled to host while he is in the United States to attend the U.N General Assembly, the weeklong annual gathering of world leaders. In addition to Monday afternoon’s private powwow, Raisi will host an "interfaith dialogue" on Monday morning. On Tuesday, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) think tank is scheduled to host a separate meeting with Raisi.
Details about the event, and who will attend, are not made clear in the invitation. Iran’s mission to the U.N., which is listed as a contact on the invite, did not respond to a Free Beacon email requesting further details.
Raisi’s efforts to meet with American influencers and policymakers during his stay in the United States has prompted anger among Iranian dissidents and some former U.S. officials who say that any meeting with Iran’s leader provides his hardline regime with legitimacy.
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