Ahmadinejad. Persona non-grata?
Photo: AP
US group slams NY hotel for hosting Ahmadinejad
Group comprised of top US officials writes searing letter to Barclay Hotel saying it should not accept Iranian president's 'blood money'
A US organization protesting Iran's nuclear proliferation condemned a New York hotel that has agreed to host President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the UN General Assembly in two weeks.
The New York Post reported Tuesday that the group, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), sent a letter to the hotel's management saying that New York businesses should not be accepting the terror sponsor's "blood money".
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Among the group's founders are President Barack Obama's advisor on Mideast affairs, Dennis Ross, and special envoy to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke.
"United Against Nuclear Iran has learned that the InterContinental The Barclay New York has agreed to host President Ahmadinejad and the Iranian delegation," UANI President Mark Wallace wrote.
"By accommodating the Iranian delegation, the InterContinental not only endorses President Ahmadinejad's election, but also turns a blind eye to the regime's flagrant violations of human rights and its commitment to illegally developing nuclear weapons.
"I ask you to consider whether the profits for short-term economic gains to be made by hosting the Iranian delegation outweigh the grave implications of supporting a terrorist state."
Barclay's management had no comment on whether the Iranian delegation would be staying with them during the UN meeting, but the hotel hosted Ahmadinejad last year for the same purpose.
The UN General Assembly will convene in New York on September 23.
