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PaperclipPerfector  9d ago (text post)   23432 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of July 13, 2026

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The federal, state or local authorities of the United States shall not impose any impediments to transit to or from the headquarters district of representatives of Members or officials of the United Nations

TIL. Now I am wondering if any hostile foreign head of state (e.g. an Ayatollah or North Korean) was ever willing to bet his freedom on the US sticking to the letter of the law.

Upon further digging, the WP article on the Rome Statute quotes Article 98(1) as the following:

The Court may not proceed with a request for surrender or assistance which would require the requested State to act inconsistently with its obligations under international law with respect to the State or diplomatic immunity of a person or property of a third State, unless the Court can first obtain the cooperation of that third State for the waiver of the immunity.

So as long as Bibi only came to NY to visit the UN headquarters and not spend his holidays there, he would likely be fine.

TIL. Now I am wondering if any hostile foreign head of state (e.g. an Ayatollah or North Korean) was ever willing to bet his freedom on the US sticking to the letter of the law.

I'm not sure if you would call him a head of state, but Mahmoud Ahmedinijad (former president of Iran) famously visited New York multiple times in the late 2000s. I think doing so is a pretty safe bet given that the US still, more or less, has rule of law. And the law is pretty clear that such persons are immune.

So as long as Bibi only came to NY to visit the UN headquarters and not spend his holidays there, he would likely be fine.

I would imagine that regardless of any UN activity, Bibi (or any other foreign head of state) would not travel to the US (or any other foreign country) without being allowed to enter with diplomatic status.

Ahmedinejad came to NYC in 2011.

Fidel Castro did it twice.

Though those were under a quite different American regime.

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