New York's posh Helmsley Hotel is saying no vacancy to Iranians planning to host President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a banquet next week, the New York Post reported Friday. The Post said the Helmsley cancelled the booking after discovering at the last minute that the controversial Iranian leader, in town for the United Nations General Assembly, was attending.
The space was booked for a banquet organised by an Iranian student organisation four months ago. However on Thursday a group called United Against Nuclear Iran informed the hotel about the guest of honour and warned of staging protests.
"As soon as Helmsley corporate management learned of the possibility of either the Iranian Mission or President Ahmadinejad holding a function at the New York Helmsley Hotel, they immediately ordered the cancellation of that function," the daily quoted spokesman Howard Rubenstein as saying. "Neither the Iranian Mission nor President Ahmadinejad is welcome at any Helmsley facility," he told the newspaper.