Revival of ‘Muslim ban’ stirs outrage in Iran

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Revival of ‘Muslim ban’ stirs outrage in Iran

June 29th, 2017

Awake Goy

Al Monitor | Rohollah Faghihi: The US Supreme Court’s decision to revive part of President Donald Trump’s travel ban imposed on citizens from six majority-Muslim countries, including Iran, has angered Tehran, with parliament members accusing the White House of violating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal reached in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 nations (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany).

Mentioning the travel ban, Seyyed Hossein Naghavi Hosseini, the spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said June 26, “Trump has a racist attitude that will cause his country to suffer. … As nations do not accept racial and ethnic discrimination today, the American policy will end up in a dead end.”

Noting the suspension of the issuing of visas for Iranians as a clear violation of the nuclear deal, the Iranian parliament member added, “In the post-JCPOA period, no negotiating states must apply new restrictions and sanctions against Iranians,” adding, “Many of the travels between the two countries were done due to scientific, research and academic issues and should not be prevented.”

Moreover, in reaction to the US Supreme Court’s decision, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted June 27, “A bigoted ban on Muslims will not keep US safer. Instead of policies empowering extremists, US should join the real fight against them.”

Furthermore, on June 28 the spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry criticized the White House for ignoring the “major perpetrators of the terrorist acts in the US.” Bahram Ghassemi said June 28, “Although the Supreme Court’s decision is temporary and will be revised in October this year, this also reflects the decision of the sovereign government to behave in a discriminatory way toward Muslims and have an unfair view about them, which is contrary to the claims made by the US administration.”