Permanent Observer of State of Palestine Riyad H. Mansour speaks during the Security Council meeting on The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question at UN Headquarters. [Getty]
President Donald Trump’s administration threatened to revoke the visas of the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations if the Palestinian ambassador refused to end his candidacy for the vice presidency of the UN General Assembly, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters.
In a cable dated Wednesday, US diplomats in its embassy in Jerusalem are instructed to deliver the message that Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour’s general assembly bid “fuels tensions”, claiming it undermines Trump’s Gaza peace plan, and would therefore face consequences from Washington if it went ahead.
“To be clear, we will hold the PA responsible if the Palestinian delegation does not withdraw its VPGA candidacy,” the cable, marked sensitive but unclassified, said, referring to the Palestinian Authority.
Among the talking points provided in the cable to US diplomats, the State Department’s September 2025 decision to waive visa sanctions for Palestinian officials assigned to the Palestinian UN mission in New York was noted.
The Palestinian mission at the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We take seriously our obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement,” a State Department spokesperson said. “Due to visa record confidentiality, we have no comment on Department actions with respect to specific cases.”
Mansour had already withdrawn his candidacy for the presidency of the General Assembly in February as a result of US lobbying, the cable said, but added that if elected to the lower-profile vice presidency, he could still preside over General Assembly sessions.
“Therefore, there is still a risk that the Palestinians could preside over GA sessions during UNGA81 unless they withdraw from the race,” the cable said, referring to the UN General Assembly’s 81st annual high-level week due to be convened in September.
“In a worst-case scenario, the next PGA might assist the Palestinians in presiding over high-profile sessions related to the Middle East or during UNGA81 high-level week,” it said.
The election of the UN General Assembly president and the 16 delegations that will serve as vice presidents will be held on 2 June.
Palestine is an observer state, meaning it is not a full member and has no vote in the 193-member General Assembly, a status similar to that of the Holy See (Vatican).
