Iran says US travel ban shows 'deep hostility' for Iranians, Muslims

Tehran on Saturday blasted U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban on countries including Iran, saying it showed "deep hostility" toward Iranians and Muslims.

"The decision to ban the entry of Iranian nationals - merely due to their religion and nationality - not only indicates the deep hostility of American decision-makers towards the Iranian people and Muslims but also violates... international law," a senior foreign ministry official said in a ministry statement posted on the X platform.

Separately, Iran on Saturday condemned new sanctions imposed by the United States targeting more than 30 individuals and entities Washington said are part of a "shadow banking" network linked to Tehran that has laundered billions of dollars through the global financial system.

"The new U.S. sanctions ..., are illegal and violate international law, and are further evidence of the deep and continuing hostility of the U.S. ruling regime towards the Iranian people," foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a statement carried by state media.

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Trump's travel ban will bar citizens from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The ban, which Trump said was necessary to protect against "foreign terrorists", was reminiscent of a similar move he implemented during his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, when he barred travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations.