Tehran condemned the US travel ban on Iranians and citizens of 11 other mostly Middle Eastern and African countries on Saturday, calling Washington’s move a clear sign of a “racist mentality.”
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday reviving broad restrictions similar to his initial travel ban, citing national security concerns following a firebomb attack at a pro-Israel rally in Colorado.
Alireza Hashemi-Raja, director general for Iranians abroad at Iran’s foreign ministry, described the policy—effective June 9—as “a clear sign of the dominance of a supremacist and racist mentality among American policymakers.”
He added in a ministry statement that the decision “reflects the deep hostility of American decision-makers towards the Iranian and Muslim people.”
In addition to Iran, the ban targets nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. A partial ban also applies to travelers from seven other countries.
Hashemi-Raja criticized the policy for “violating fundamental principles of international law” and for depriving “hundreds of millions of people of the right to travel based solely on their nationality or religion.”
He further warned that the discriminatory measure “entails international responsibility for the US government,” though he did not elaborate.
Diplomatic ties between Iran and the US were severed shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and relations have remained deeply strained since. The United States hosts the largest Iranian diaspora, estimated at around 1.5 million people as of 2020, according to Tehran’s foreign ministry.
Trump’s latest order follows a firebomb attack at a Colorado rally on Sunday, which injured more than a dozen people. The suspect, an Egyptian national, had overstayed his tourist visa.
AFP
