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Iran to Ban U.S. Visitors in Retaliation to Trump Policy | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani takes part in a news conference near the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo


Iran said on Saturday it would stop U.S. citizens entering the country in retaliation to Washington’s visa ban against Tehran and six other majority-Muslim countries announced by new U.S. President Donald Trump.

“While respecting the American people and distinguishing between them and the hostile policies of the U.S. government, Iran will implement the principle of reciprocity until the offensive U.S. limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Trump’s executive order has prompted fury from Arab travelers in the Middle East and North Africa who said it was humiliating and discriminatory. It drew widespread criticism from U.S. Western allies including France and Germany, Arab American groups and human rights organizations.

On the other hand, Sudan called President Donald Trump’s decision to ban entry of its citizens “very unfortunate” in light of “historic steps” taken just weeks earlier to lift sanctions for cooperation on combating terrorism, its foreign ministry said on Saturday.

Trump on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travellers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries including Sudan, saying the moves would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks.

That move comes only two weeks after the departing Obama administration said it would lift a 20-year-old trade embargo against Sudan, unfreeze assets and remove financial sanctions as a response to Khartoum’s cooperation in fighting terror group ISIS and other groups. Sudan’s foreign ministry said previously that the sanctions decision had come with Trump’s approval.

“It is particularly unfortunate that this decision coincides with the two countries’ historic move to lift economic and trade sanctions … and just as economic and financial institutions as well as businessmen in the country were set to continue developing their investment projects…” a foreign ministry statement said.

Sudan’s economic problems have been building since the south seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of oil output, the main source of foreign currency and government income.

The sanctions relief, which will be delayed by 180 days to assess progress on human rights and ongoing conflicts, is expected to impact businesses that deal with agriculture, import-export services, transportation, technology and medical equipment, and oil.