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WASHINGTON - The United States adopted a harsher tone toward Iran's proposed U.N. ambassador on Tuesday, calling Tehran's choice of Hamid Abutalebi "unacceptable" and tying him to the 1979-1981 U.S. hostage crisis in Tehran.

DUBAI - President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday international sanctions on Iran would unravel in months following negotiations with world powers on its nuclear program, the official IRNA news agency reported.

WASHINGTON - This is what the modern American war room looks like: the clocks on the wall show the times in Kabul, Tehran and Bogota. The faces around the conference table are mostly young. There is talk of targets, and of middle-of-the-night calls to Europe.

UNITED NATIONS - Iran requested on Monday a special meeting of a U.N. committee on the United States' refusal to grant a visa to Tehran's new U.N. ambassador appointee, describing the decision as a dangerous precedent that could harm international diplomacy.

WASHINGTON - This is what the modern American war room looks like: the clocks on the wall show the times in Kabul, Tehran and Bogota. The faces around the conference table are mostly young. There is talk of targets, and of middle-of-the-night calls to Europe.

UNITED NATIONS - Iran requested on Monday a special meeting of a U.N. committee on the United States' refusal to grant a visa to Tehran's new U.N. ambassador appointee, but it has so far refrained from calling for any specific action, the committee's chairman said.

CALGARY, Alberta - A Canadian company will appear in court on Monday charged with violating international sanctions by trying to export components to Iran that could have nuclear applications.

DUBAI - Iran has complained to the United Nations about the United States refusing to grant a visa to its newly appointed U.N. ambassador over his role in the 1979 hostage crisis, state news agency IRNA said on Sunday.

JERUSALEM - Israel is holding secret talks with some Arab states that do not recognize it, looking to establish diplomatic ties based on a common fear of Iran, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday.

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Iran is pushing back against the Obama administration's decision to deny a visa to its choice for U.N. ambassador, describing the move as a dangerous precedent and requesting a special meeting of a U.N. committee to discuss the matter.

The Obama administration said Friday that the U.S. had notified Iran it would not grant a visa allowing Hamid Aboutalebi to enter the country over concerns about his involvement in the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis in Tehran.

Iran's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Hossein Dehghani on Monday sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon requesting that the denial be addressed in an "extraordinary and urgent manner" by the U.N. Committee on Relations with the Host Country.

"This decision of the U.S. government has indeed negative implications for multilateral diplomacy and will create a dangerous precedence and affect adversely the work of intergovernmental organizations and activities of their member states," Dehghani wrote.

Cyprus U.N. Ambassador Nicholas Emiliou, who chairs the 19-member committee that handles immigration and security for diplomats, told Reuters that a meeting would likely be held next week.

"They have specified that they do not request any action on the part of the committee. They simply wish to brief us for the time being at least," Emiliou said of Iran's request.

Dehghani added that the "denial of visa to a representative of a U.N. member state is in contravention of the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter including the principles of sovereign equality of states and respect for their sovereignty and political independence."

Aboutalebi is alleged to have participated in a Muslim student group that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days during the embassy takeover. He has insisted his involvement in the group Muslim Students Following the Imam's Line was limited to translation and negotiation. Iran says he is one of the country's best diplomats, and that he previously received a U.S. visa. He already served at Iranian diplomatic missions in Australia, Belgium and Italy.

As host country for the U.N., the U.S. must allow persons invited to the New York headquarters to enter the country. However, exceptions can be made when a visa applicant is found to have engaged in spying against the U.S. or poses a threat.

On Saturday, Iran'sDeputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country had no plans to name a new diplomat to the United Nations. He was quoted by Iran's semiofficial Mehr news agency as saying officials would pursue the issue "through anticipated legal channels at the U.N."

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Iran protests US visa denial for UN ambassador pick

Iran has formally protested Washington's refusal to grant a visa to its new U.N. ambassador, saying the move damages international diplomacy and sets a "dangerous" precedent.

The U.S. State Department and White House have said that Iran's selection of Hamid Aboutalebi to be its United Nations envoy is not acceptable. Aboutalebi was a member of the group responsible for the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Aboutalebi has insisted his involvement in the group was limited to translation and negotiation.

Iran's U.N. Mission sent a delegation to meet with the United Nations' office of Legal Affairs on Tuesday afternoon about the issue, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

The Iranian Mission filed a letter with the U.N.'s Committee on Relations with the Host Country and released a copy of it Monday night.

The 19-nation Host Country committee, chaired by Cyprus, can hold a hearing on the issue but cannot change the U.S. decision. The United States is one of the members of the committee, which is expected to meet next on April 22.

Iran's letter said the United States was breaching its obligations under the U.S.-U.N. Host Country Agreement, which is a treaty and U.S. law that generally requires the host country to allow access to diplomats and U.N. guest speakers.

"The Agreement has unambiguously stated that its provisions shall be 'applicable irrespective of the relations existing between the Governments of the persons referred to in that section and the Government of the United States,'" the Iranian letter said.

"This decision of the U.S. Government has indeed negative implications for multilateral diplomacy and will create a dangerous precedence and affect adversely the work of intergovernmental organizations and activities of their Member-States," said the Iranian letter to the committee and to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The United States has said there are loopholes in the agreement that allow it to refuse a visa to people considered a danger to the United States, or who have been involved in terrorist activities.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki on Tuesday reiterated that the U.S. deems Aboutalebi's nomination "unacceptable."

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Iran Protests UN Ambassador Ban to United Nations