The US State Department has said that two members of Iran's United Nations delegation were removed from the country, as the report's headline states. Iran keeps a permanent mission to the UN in New York, and its diplomats hold visas granted on the basis of that accreditation despite the lack of formal ties between the two governments. Washington retains the power to revoke such visas, and expulsions of accredited diplomats, while rare, have happened under earlier administrations. Governments usually cite activities incompatible with diplomatic status in these cases, though no stated reason appears in this brief account. The names, roles and departure dates of the two Iranians were not included. The step lands during a period of low relations between the two governments, which have clashed publicly over a range of disputes.