Trump’s Ban on Muslims Entry Will Harm US: Velayati

A senior Iranian official has criticized a controversial decision by the new US government to block entry into the country from Iran and six other Muslim states, saying such moves would be detrimental to Washington, Press TV reported.

“If Iranians travel to a country, their dignity must be respected and such moves will undoubtedly be harmful to the future of the US,” Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on international affairs, told reporters on Sunday following a meeting with the special representative of the United Nations secretary general for Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, in Tehran.

 “Iranians have always lived with dignity and do not need [US President Donald] Trump or any other person from the government of the United States of America to give them permission to enter or not,” the senior Iranian official said.

Velayati added that Iranians are proud of the fact that they do not need to be endorsed by  what he called “unbalanced” individuals such as Trump.

Trump’s executive order, issued on January 27, blocked entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. It also suspended entry of all refugees for 120 days and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely.

Military approaches will fail to solve Afghan issue

Elsewhere, the top Iranian official said he had held “direct and constructive” talks with the UN envoy earlier in the day.

Velayati added that both sides believe that a military approach would fail to solve the Afghan issue and that peaceful means and political dialogue among different groups in the country are the only solutions.

He expressed the Islamic Republic’s opposition to the intervention by any country in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

US ban on Muslim arrivals greatest gift to terrorists: Zarif

Iran says the US’s decision to restrict arrivals from the Islamic Republic shows the baselessness of the Washington’s claims of only having issues with the government in Tehran, adding that the move is the greatest gift to terrorists and their supporters.   

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made the remarks early on Sunday via a series of posts on his official Twitter account.

“Muslim Ban shows baselessness of US claims of friendship with the Iranian people while only having issues with the government,” he said.

“Collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening fault-lines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks,” added Zarif.

He noted that Iran will be taking suitable reciprocal actions to protect its citizens, while respecting US citizens and differentiating between them and Washington’s hostile policies.

H.M