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08-06-2025
TEHRAN: Iran has sharply criticized United States President Donald Trump’s travel ban on its nationals and those of several countries, calling it “racist” and a sign of deep-rooted hostility towards Iranians and Muslims.
Trump earlier this week signed an executive order that bars and restricts travelers from 19 countries, including several African and Middle Eastern nations.
The policy, set to take effect on Monday, echoes measures introduced during Trump’s previous term in office from 2017-2021. In the executive order, Trump said he “must act to protect the national security” of the US.
Alireza Hashemi-Raja, who heads the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ department for Iranians abroad, said on Saturday that the decision reveals “the dominance of a supremacist and racist mentality among American policymakers”.
“This measure indicates the deep hostility of American decision-makers towards the Iranian and Muslim people,” he said in a statement.
The latest restrictions cover nationals from Iran, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad; the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. A limited ban has also been applied to travelers from seven other countries.
Hashemi-Raja argued that the policy breaches international legal norms and denies millions the basic right to travel, based solely on nationality or faith. He said the ban would “entail international responsibility for the US government”, without elaborating.
The US and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations since 1980, following the Islamic Revolution.
Despite decades of strained ties, the US remains home to the world’s largest Iranian diaspora, with about 1.5 million Iranians living there as of 2020, according to Tehran’s Foreign Ministry.
Day before yesterday, United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing a full travel ban on people from 12 countries and restricting the citizens of seven other countries, the White House said.
The banned countries include Afghanistan, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
In addition to the ban announced on Wednesday, there will be heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
“I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people,” Trump said in his order.
The order comes into force on Monday, June 9, 2025 at 12:01am local time in Washington, DC (04:01 GMT). Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said.
In a video message released by the White House, Trump said the recent attack on a pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado had “underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted”.
The president claimed there were “millions and millions of these illegals who should not be in our country”.
“We will not let what happened in Europe happen to America,” he said, adding; “very simply, we cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States”.
“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm.”
The African Union Commission raised concerns on Thursday about the potential negative impact of the new travel ban on educational exchanges, commercial engagement and broader diplomatic relations. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
