Iran vows to bar Americans in response to Trump’s ‘insulting’ ban

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran will ban Americans from entering the country in response to US President Donald Trump’s “insulting” order restricting arrivals from Iran and six other Muslim states, the foreign ministry said Saturday.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran… has decided to respond in kind after the insulting decision of the United States concerning Iranian nationals,” the ministry said in a statement carried by state television.

Trump on Friday signed a sweeping executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Iran’s foreign ministry called the decision “illegal, illogical and contrary to international rules.”

It said its own ban on US nationals would continue until the American measure was lifted.

US President Donald Trump shows his signature on an executive action on rebuilding the military during an event at the Pentagon in Washington, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

It said it had ordered Iranian diplomatic missions to help Iranians who had been “prevented from returning to their homes and places of work and study” in the United States.

Travel agents in Tehran said that foreign airlines had begun barring Iranians from US-bound flights. Two agencies told AFP they had been instructed by Etihad Airways, Emirates and Turkish Airlines not to sell US tickets or allow Iranians holding American visas to board US-bound flights.

With more than a million Iranians living in the United States, many families are concerned about the implications of Trump’s visa ban.