TEHRAN, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Sunday condemned the United States for declining visas for an Iranian women delegation to attend the 51st conference of the UN Commission on Status of Women in New York.

    Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said the United States acted in violation of its immediate duties and obligations to UN members, the official IRNA news agency reported.

    He said the United States has the responsibility to facilitate the participation of UN members in the international body's meetings, claiming that Washington was using its status as host of the UN to its political advantage to exert pressure on independent states.

    "Global community is required to take account of this issue," he added.

    Zohreh Tayebzadeh Nouri, chairperson of the Center for the Women and Family Affairs, said that the U.S. refusal was an affront to Iranian women.

    She said that the U.S. officials were fearful of progressive thought of Iranian women and their refusal to grant visas betrayed such a fear.

    She said that the group of nine woman delegates, including three reporters, three researchers and three students, had applied for visas with the U.S. consulate in Switzerland, but, their applications were turned down.

    Touba Kermani, who had led the Iranian delegation to Switzerland to get the visas, said that the United States violated its commitments to host the UN headquarters and created nuisance for member states to participate in UN conferences.