New US Visa Waiver Law Contravenes JCPOA: Iranian MP
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian lawmaker said a new bill passed by the US House of Representatives to tighten visa-free travel to the US and that President Barack Obama signed into law has violated a July comprehensive nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
“I believe what the US Congress did and Obama endorsed will get nowhere, because today’s circumstances are not like those in the past,” Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi told reporters in Tehran on Sunday.
He stressed that the new US act has “definitely” violated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a lasting nuclear deal that Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) hammered out in July.
Based on the JCPOA, the US had undertaken not to impose any restrictions on Iran’s trade activities, and, thus, this recent law is in breach of the nuclear accord, the top Iranian MP added.
According to the bill, which was passed in the US House by 407 to 19 on December 8, visitors from the 38 “visa waiver” countries will need to obtain a visa to travel to the US if they have been to Syria, Iraq, Iran or Sudan in the past five years.
It means citizens of many EU countries and the rest of the 38 states participating in the program who travel to Iran either for business or visiting the country’s attractions will have to obtain a visa should they ever want to enter the US.
On Friday, US lawmakers sent Obama a huge tax and spending package, which also included reforms of the US visa waiver program. The president quickly signed it into law before leaving Washington for his annual holiday vacation.
The decision comes before implementation of the JCPOA.
The final nuclear deal, known as a big confidence-building step in relations between Iran and the West, is going to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran after coming into force.
