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Prominent lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said the U.S. had no right to intervene in Iran’s UN envoy pick.

“Naming Aboutalebi as Iran’s UN envoy has nothing to do with the U.S. American opposition to Aboutalebi’s entry is a misuse of the geographical location of the UN,” the Iranian parliament’s website quoted Boroujerdi as saying Saturday. “The Iranian government should stand up to this U.S. bullying.”

Boroujerdi, who heads the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, urged Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to write to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to fight the U.S. decision.

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was quoted by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency as saying officials would pursue the issue “through anticipated legal channels at the UN”

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 United Nations, 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.