Scoop: U.S. expelled Iran's deputy UN ambassador over national security concerns

Behind the scenes: In early December, the State Department sent an official note to the Iranian Mission to the UN in New York asking deputy ambassador Saadat Aghajani to leave the country immediately.

• The Iranian diplomat was asked to depart the U.S. under "section 13 procedures" — an internal State Department process to facilitate a quiet expulsion, rather than formally declaring someone "persona non grata."
• The State Department often uses section 13 expulsions for diplomats accused of espionage or acting contrary to U.S. interests or national security. No specific allegations have been lodged against Aghajani.
• In February, the State Department asked Aghajani's children, who remained in New York after their father's departure, to leave the country too, a U.S. official said.

Zoom out: At least two other more junior diplomats at the Iranian mission were expelled in the two months prior to Aghajani's departure.

• Last September, the State Department limited the movements of Iranian diplomats at the mission to a radius of 25 miles from central Manhattan.

• At least one of the Iranian diplomats who was expelled had violated these limitations multiple times, a U.S. official said.

What they're saying: "We can confirm that the United States delivered a Note Verbale on December 4 regarding the status of certain Iranian personnel at the UN. For privacy and security reasons, we do not comment on the specifics of diplomatic personnel actions," a State Department official said.

• The State Department official said the action occurred well before the protests in Iran and was unrelated to those events.
• The Iranian mission to the UN declined to comment.