TheCable

Iran will not issue visas to Americans as long as the US refuses to do the same to Iranians, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, deputy foreign minister, said on Tuesday.

Takht-Ravanchi said his country was unperturbed by the renewed ban on Iranian visitors under President Donald Trump’s revised executive order.

“The new executive order is also worthless from a judicial point of view,” Takht-Ravanchi said.

“As long as Iranians were barred from entering the US, US citizens would be barred from entering Iran; as soon as the US lifts the ban, as it was forced to do at the end of February, Iran would respond in kind.”

Takht-Ravanchi said Iran had never been involved in “any terrorist attack” on US soil, and accused Trump of targeting countries that were not involved in such attacks.

Trump signed a revised executive order on Monday, halting new visas for 90 days for people from six predominantly Islamic nations – Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and also suspending refugee admissions for 120 days.

The new order takes effect from March 16.

Iraq was on the previous 90-day ban order but the White House said it removed the country from the list due to “enhanced cooperation” with the government in Baghdad.