U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanded on Monday that the Iranian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly immediately leave the country after negotiations stalled, Axios reported, citing a U.S. official and a second source with knowledge of the matter.

Axar.az reports according to the publication, though the Iranians were likely to depart soon anyway, Rubio's move was a highly unusual diplomatic rebuke and laid bare the deep distrust between the two countries amid fruitless efforts to broker an end to the war.

Qatari mediators tried to secure a diplomatic breakthrough between the U.S. and Iran but made little progress, with neither side willing to budge.

Among those ordered to leave New York was Rubio's Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

"Secretary Rubio kicked out the Iranian delegation who had overstayed their welcome. The UN General Assembly was over, so it was time for them to go," the U.S. official said.

On Monday morning, the White House thought there might be progress in talks with Iran later in the day. But by late afternoon it became clear negotiations were at a stalemate.

Then on Monday evening, at Rubio's orders, the U.S. mission to the UN told the Iranian mission to the UN that Araghchi's delegation had to leave New York immediately, according to the U.S. official.

The Iranian delegation, including Araghchi, left for the airport several hours later and boarded a flight from New York to Doha at 1:20 a.m. Tuesday.

A second source confirmed that the U.S. demanded that the Iranian delegation leave, but said Araghchi was scheduled to travel back to Tehran on Monday night anyway.