A lawyer for a cameraman who was accompanying Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the U.S. for the United Nations General Assembly in New York says his client has defected, The Associated Press reports.

Paul O'Dwyer, a New York City-based lawyer who is representing Hassan Gol Khanban, confirmed Sunday, Sept 30, that his client is seeking asylum in the U.S. He provided no other details.

It wasn't immediately clear when the Iranian defected or his current whereabouts.

A message left with Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman for the Iranian mission to the UN, was not immediately returned.

Ahmadinejad addressed the assembly on Wednesday, his last as president of Iran.