![Mohammad Javad Zarif [Getty]](/sites/default/files/media/images/4AE862DE-5ABC-49CB-93F4-5DAA06413695.jpg "Mohammad Javad Zarif [Getty]")
Iran: Trump travel ban 'great gift to extremists'
Iran's foreign minister has said that rather than make the US a safer place, Donald Trump's 'Muslim ban' will to the reverse and aid militants looking for new recruits.
2 min read
Zarif called the immigration ban "collective discrimination" [Getty]
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif has said that US President Donald Trump's decision to ban arrivals from seven Muslim majority countries was "a great gift to extremists".
"#MuslimBan will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters," Zarif said as part of a string of tweets.
"Collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening fault-lines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks."
Trump on Friday signed a sweeping executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and bar visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Iran's foreign ministry had earlier released a statement saying it would reciprocate with a ban on Americans entering the country.
But Zarif added that its restrictions would not apply to Americans who already have a valid visa.
"Unlike the US, our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed," he wrote.
With more than one million Iranians living in the United States, the travel restrictions are expected to cause chaos for students, businessmen and families travelling between the two countries.
Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said the measures were proof of America's "violent racist spirit".
The foreign ministry released a travel advisory, calling on all citizens travelling to the US to "make completely sure" before leaving that they will not face obstacles.
Travel agents in Tehran said Saturday they had been instructed by foreign airlines, including Emirates, Etihad and Turkish Airlines, not to sell US tickets.
Iranians holding US visas were not being allowed to board US-bound flights.
"#MuslimBan will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters," Zarif said as part of a string of tweets.
"Collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening fault-lines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks."
Trump on Friday signed a sweeping executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and bar visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Iran's foreign ministry had earlier released a statement saying it would reciprocate with a ban on Americans entering the country.
But Zarif added that its restrictions would not apply to Americans who already have a valid visa.
"Unlike the US, our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed," he wrote.
With more than one million Iranians living in the United States, the travel restrictions are expected to cause chaos for students, businessmen and families travelling between the two countries.
Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said the measures were proof of America's "violent racist spirit".
The foreign ministry released a travel advisory, calling on all citizens travelling to the US to "make completely sure" before leaving that they will not face obstacles.
Travel agents in Tehran said Saturday they had been instructed by foreign airlines, including Emirates, Etihad and Turkish Airlines, not to sell US tickets.
Iranians holding US visas were not being allowed to board US-bound flights.
Follow the Middle East's top stories in English at The New Arab on Google News
More In News
