Iran has vehemently condemned the United States’ latest travel ban targeting nationals from 19 countries, including Iran itself, branding the policy as rooted in a “racist mentality” and a clear demonstration of entrenched hostility towards Iranians and Muslims.
The controversial executive order, signed earlier this week by President Donald Trump, reinstates and expands restrictions on travel from several African and Middle Eastern nations.
The ban is set to take effect on Monday and mirrors similar measures imposed during Trump’s first term between 2017 and 2021.
In justifying the policy, the White House cited the imperative to “protect national security” — a rationale fiercely rejected by Tehran.
Alireza Hashemi-Raja, head of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ department for Iranians abroad, described the ban as evidence of “supremacist and racist attitudes dominating American policymaking.”
In a statement released on Saturday, he asserted that the decision exposes the deep-seated hostility of US authorities towards the Iranian people and the broader Muslim community.
The latest restrictions bar entry to nationals from Iran, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, with additional limitations affecting seven other countries.
Hashemi-Raja further condemned the ban as a violation of international legal norms, arguing that it unjustly deprives millions of their fundamental right to travel, solely based on nationality or religion.
He warned that the policy could expose the US government to international accountability, though he did not specify the mechanisms for such responsibility.
Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the US and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations. Nonetheless, the United States is home to the world’s largest Iranian diaspora, estimated at around 1.5 million people as of 2020, according to Tehran’s Foreign Ministry.
The renewed travel restrictions come amid ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran, further straining already fraught bilateral relations.
