An Iranian spokesperson referred to as the transfer an indication of a ‘supremacist and racist mentality’ dominating US coverage.
Iran has sharply criticised United States President Donald Trump’s travel ban on its nationals and people of a number of international locations, calling it “racist” and an indication of deep-rooted hostility in the direction of Iranians and Muslims.
Trump earlier this week signed an executive order that bars and restricts travellers from 19 international locations, together with a number of African and Center Jap nations.
The coverage, set to take impact on Monday, echoes measures launched throughout Trump’s earlier time period in workplace from 2017-2021. Within the government order, Trump stated he “should act to guard the nationwide safety” of the US.
Alireza Hashemi-Raja, who heads the Iranian Ministry of Overseas Affairs’ division for Iranians overseas, stated on Saturday that the choice reveals “the dominance of a supremacist and racist mentality amongst American policymakers”.
“This measure signifies the deep hostility of American decision-makers in the direction of the Iranian and Muslim folks,” he stated in an announcement.
The most recent restrictions cowl nationals from Iran, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. A restricted ban has additionally been utilized to travellers from seven different international locations.
Hashemi-Raja argued that the coverage breaches worldwide authorized norms and denies thousands and thousands the fundamental proper to journey, primarily based solely on nationality or religion. He stated the ban would “entail worldwide accountability for the US authorities”, with out elaborating.
The US and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations since 1980, following the Islamic Revolution.
Regardless of a long time of strained ties, the US stays house to the world’s largest Iranian diaspora, with about 1.5 million Iranians residing there as of 2020, in line with Tehran’s Overseas Ministry.
