A former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations is calling on a prominent New York City hotel to deny accommodations Iranian President Hassan Rowhani and his political delegation, which will be in the city next week for the United Nations General Assembly meeting.
Rowhani and a team of top Iranian diplomats will purportedly be lodging at the ONE U.N. hotel in downtown New York City, according to former U.N. Ambassador Mark Wallace, who currently serves as CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), a watchdog group.
It is inappropriate for the U.S. hotel to play host to a delegation that has denied the Holocaust, threatened to kill U.S. soldiers, and is secretly pursuing nuclear arms that would likely be used to strike America and Israel, Wallace and UANI wrote in a letter to the hotel’s management.
"Certainly the ONE U.N. is aware that President Rowhani is the public face of a brutal regime that is a sworn enemy of the United States, and which is under strict sanctions by the U.S. government and the international community," Wallace wrote to ONE U.N. General Manager Paul Wong and Wong Hong Ren, the CEO of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels.
"We believe that no venue or entity in the United States should be doing business with the Iranian regime and its delegation until the regime has seriously and verifiably altered its dangerous and threatening behavior," Wallace writes.
A spokesman for the ONE U.N. would not confirm that Rowhani and his advisers would be staying in the hotel.
"We have been asked by the Secret Service not to comment on who may be staying at the hotel during the General Assembly session," the spokesman told the Washington Free Beacon when approached for comment.
The Millennium management has an agreement with the U.N. to provide lodging to all U.N. member countries.
Iran’s Permanent Mission to the U.N. did not respond to multiple Free Beacon requests for comment.
UANI spokesman Nathan Carleton said that U.S. businesses should not be doing business with the Iranian regime.
"A private New York business should not be engaging in commerce with a sanctioned regime whose behavior and policies are so contradictory to America’s values and national security," Carleton told the Free Beacon. "Rowhani is entitled to speak to the U.N., however he should be staying at Iran’s mission to the U.N., not at a luxurious hotel."
UANI has launched a petition requesting One U.N. not host Hassan Rowhani and his delegation.
ONE U.N. will allow its Iranian guests to "wake up to spectacular New York City views including that of the East River, which runs by the historical site of the United Nations," according to its website. "On the west side of the hotel, each room offers breathtaking views of iconic landmarks such as the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building."
The guests will also enjoy "unrivaled furnishings with stylish bedding, thoughtful amenities, and a wealth of facilities."
Wallace promises to publicly shame the ONE U.N. if it does not reconsider its decision to host the Iranian delegation.
"Because of the threat presented by the Iranian regime, UANI will publicly highlight ONE U.N. New York and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels’s irresponsible decision if you do not take action to refuse accommodation to the Iranian delegation," Wallace wrote.
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used his platform at the U.N. to deny the Holocaust, threaten Israel, threaten "death to America," and promote a radical ideology.
Rowhani’s rhetoric is not expected to be as pointed. However he has referred to Israel as a "wound on the body of the Muslim world" and "the great Zionist Satan."
President Barack Obama and Rowhani have exchanged conciliatory letters in recent weeks, but the two leaders are not expected to meet face-to-face next week.
Rowhani has expressed a willingness to engage with the West, yet he has appointed a handful of Iranian politicians who have ties to terrorism and human rights abuses.
Iran’s new defense minister, for instance, has been tied to a 1983 terrorist bombing in Lebanon that killed 241 U.S. servicemen.
Rowhani also has nominated a justice minister who served under Ahmadinejad and has come under fire from human rights groups for committing various crimes against humanity.
The Iranian delegation also includes a Jewish lawmaker who has criticized Israel.