In response to President Donald Trump‘s signed executive action banning Muslims and Syrian refugees from entering the U.S., Iran plans to stop U.S. citizens from entering the country, Reuters and CNN report.
According to a statement from the country’s Foreign Ministry, reported by state media, Trump’s ban is “an obvious insult to the Islamic world and in particular to the great nation of Iran.”
“While respecting the American people and distinguishing between them and the hostile policies of the U.S. government, Iran will implement the principle of reciprocity until the offensive U.S. limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted,” the statement says.
“The restrictions against travel by Muslims to America … are an open affront against the Muslim world and the Iranian nation in particular and will be known as a great gift to extremists.”
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order banning Syrian refugees and citizens from Iran and six other Muslim-majority nations from entering the U.S. The order includes the suspension of U.S. visas for citizens of these nations for 90 days and of the U.S. refugee program for 120 days. This ban applies to green card holders as well.
The order has already being applied, with refugees and immigrants from these countries being detained at U.S. access points. Law and civil rights groups, including the ACLU, have already filed legal motions to recover and represent detained refugees.
“These are people with valid visas and legitimate refugee claims who have already been determined by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to be admissible and to be allowed to enter the U.S. and now are being unlawfully detained,” Mark Doss, supervising attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project, told the New York Times earlier Saturday.