As a result of the move, the nations cannot vote in the General Assembly.

Iran owes more than $16 million in dues, more than any other delinquent nation.

“We have been in very intense discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran on finding a way for them to pay their dues,” Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters Thursday.

“The minimum paid needed to be paid by the Central African Republic is $29,395; by Comoros, $871,632; by the Islamic Republic of Iran, $16,251,298; São Tomé and Príncipe, $829,888; and Somalia, $1,443,640.”

Tehran blamed the unpaid debt on U.S. sanctions that has frozen Iranian money worldwide.