Former President Jimmy Carter yesterday said he is supportive of letting a known member of a terrorist group, Hamid Aboutalebi, into the United States as Iran’s newest ambassador to the United Nations.
Aboutalebi was a member of the Muslim student group who held 52 Americans hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran for more than a year beginning in 1979 during Carter’s presidency.
When asked in an interview if the United States should block Aboutalebi’s entrance to U.N. headquarters in New York, Carter told radio station WTOP: “You know, those were college students at that time, and I think that they have matured. …I think it would be inappropriate for the United States to try to block someone that Iran wanted to choose.”
While Aboutalebi claims that he was not part of the initial hostage takeover, he admits that he was a part of the organization that carried it out. According to Iranian-American activist Banafesh Zand, Aboutalebi served as a translator at a news conference hosted by the militant group just weeks after the takeover. He was 22 years old at the time.
The Muslim Students Following the Imam’s Line was the militant student group responsible for the crisis and, according to Bloomberg, Aboutalebi’s photo is still on their official website.
Unlike Carter, the State Department has raised “serious concerns” about the appointment and several members of Congress have also pushed back.
“It is unconscionable that, in the name of international diplomatic protocol, the United States would be forced to host a foreign national who showed a brutal disregard for the status of our diplomats when they were stationed in his country,” remarked Sen. Ted Cruz (R–Tex.) in a statement.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.) is also wary, saying in a statement that “Iran’s attempt to appoint Mr. Aboutalebi is a slap in the face to the Americans that were abducted, and their families. It reveals a disdain for the diplomatic process and we should push back in kind.”
Since the hostage crisis, Aboutalebi served as the political director general of the Foreign Ministry and was Iran’s ambassador to Australia, Belgium, Italy, and the European Union. He protests that his past has not prevented him from conducting diplomatic relations with the West before now. The Department of State has yet to clear his visa request and legislation to suspend it was brought to the Senate floor by Cruz on Wednesday afternoon.

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obama talks of fears of our veterans mental health and instabilities which is an absolute load of bull manure! Now another mentally inept counterpart of the obama demoniccrats wants to bring in a known iranian terrorist who he himself was instrumental in the cost of billions of taxpayer dollars back in the seventies under carter administration which was until now correctly labeled as the worst presidency ever but now obam has managed to top his mindless efforts to destroy our nation!
If we allow this animal in America I say we make a trade of carter and obama to be thrown into a trade agreement! The muslims get carter and obama to do with as they wish and we take this alibaba meathead and bring him up on charges from the carter fiasco of hostage mishandling! They (muslims) can behead 2 and we can charge and convict their boy and either imprison or execute him for high crimes against America and Americans or the iranians can reimburse our treasuries of billions of dollars spent trying to get the hostages freed and whatever else money carter gave them and also they can pay for the deaths of our sailors on the USS Cole and all repairation damages cost to repair the ship!
In otherwords the allowing him on American soil for any reason is unthinkable just as my trade deal would be unthinkable to them!
Former President Jimmy Carter yesterday said he is supportive of letting a known member of a terrorist group, Hamid Aboutalebi, into the United States as Iran’s newest ambassador to the United Nations.
Aboutalebi was a member of the Muslim student group who held 52 Americans hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran for more than a year beginning in 1979 during Carter’s presidency.
When asked in an interview if the United States should block Aboutalebi’s entrance to U.N. headquarters in New York, Carter told radio station WTOP: “You know, those were college students at that time, and I think that they have matured. …I think it would be inappropriate for the United States to try to block someone that Iran wanted to choose.”
Gee, this is just like our current Attorney General when he was a college student and participated in an armed takeover of the ROTC building at Columbia University. But wait, he also matured. Matured into a socialist that refuses to enforce standing laws of these united States and approves of unwarranted investigations of law abiding citizens.
Yeah, Aboutalebi has matured (meaning his college ideas and actions have also matured). He is now more mature and dangerous than ever. Compare his actions then and now to Holder’s actions then and now. Reminds me of the phrase “enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Jimmy Carter, this country’s second worst president. We should be deeply concerned every time Carter verbalizes any thought on how to run a country. Next to Clinton and Obama Carter almost singlehandedly destroyed our countries ability to defend its citizens.
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