Iran to block US visitors after Trump's immigration ban
After US President Donald Trump barred its citizens from entering the US, Iran on Sunday said it would block entry for American citizens to the country until the US government withdraws its decision. Calling Trump's decision "an open affront against the Iranian nation and Muslim world", Iran said it will be recorded in history as "a great gift to extremists".
Iran indicated it could bar entry to US citizens in response to a move by US President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order temporarily barring most arrivals from seven Muslim-majority countries. Iran said Trump's wide-ranging order, which was signed on Friday, among other things, prevents most travelers from Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Yemen from entering the US, was insulting and that it would respond in kind while the restrictions are in place.Calling Trump's decision "an open affront against the Iranian nation and the Muslim world", the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the measure would backfire and promote more violence and extremism. Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, tweeted, "While respecting Americans & differentiating between them &hostile U.S. policies, Iran will take reciprocal measures to protect citizens." 'GIFT FOR EXTREMISTS' "Despite its false claims of combating terrorism and ensuring the safety of the American people, (the executive order) will go down in history as a big gift to extremists and their supporters," it said.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani earlier had indirectly criticised another Trump executive order that assigns federal funds for the construction of a wall on the border separating the US and Mexico.The current era is one of "reconciliation and coexistence and not of putting up walls between countries," he said.A further deterioration in Iranian-US relations was expected with the coming to power of Trump, who has repeatedly criticised the nuclear deal signed in July 2015 between Iran and six major world powers.