Iran
calls the new U.S. visa law breach of the nuclear deal
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[December 23, 2015]
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday a new U.S. law putting
visa restrictions on Iranians and those who had visited Iran would, if
implemented, breach a nuclear deal Tehran had struck with world powers
earlier this year.
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The new measure passed by the U.S. Congress will prevent visa-free
travel to the United States for people who have visited Iran or hold
Iranian nationality.
The measure, which President Barack Obama signed into law on Friday,
also applies to Iraq, Syria and Sudan, and was introduced as a
security measure after Islamic State attacks in Paris and an attack
in San Bernardino, California.
Iran, a Shi'ite Muslim theocracy staunchly opposed to Sunni
radicalism espoused by groups like Islamic State, says its inclusion
on the list is intended to undermine the nuclear deal, known as the
JCPOA.
"If the Congress law is implemented as it is, it would definitely be
a breach (of JCPOA)," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency, speaking at a joint
press conference with his Mongolian counterpart, Lundeg Purevsuren.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Dec/23/images/ads/current/friendship_manor_sda_christmas2014.png) Zarif said he had raised the issue with U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry at their meeting in New York this month and also in several
emails in the last 10 days, hoping that "these measures stop any
obstacle in implementation of the JCPOA."
APPEAL TO EUROPEANS
Citizens of 38 countries, most of them in Europe, are eligible for
waivers under the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. Under the new
restrictions, citizens who have visited Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan
in the last five years, and those who hold dual nationality with one
of those countries, are excluded. In a meeting with French Senate
President Gerard Larcher in Tehran on Monday, Zarif called the new
U.S. legislation discriminatory and asked Europeans to oppose the
law that was "against their independence".
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry wrote to Zarif on Saturday to
assure him Washington remained committed to the JCPOA, noting that
the White House can waive the new requirements in individual cases.
Iran has been promised a lifting of international sanctions hobbling
its economy once it has restrictions on its nuclear program in place
as stipulated by its deal with the powers.
Iranian officials have said the visa measure will adversely affect
bilateral relations. Some suggest the measure is effectively a new
sanction against the Islamic Republic that could jeopardize the
nuclear deal.
(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; editing by Ralph Boulton)
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