Brian Hook’s Explanation on Not Lifting Travel Restrictions to the US for Iranians

Brian Hook, head of the Iran Action Group at the US State Department, blamed the Iranian government for not lifting travel restrictions for Iranians to the United States, saying that Tehran does not share its citizens’ background records with the US for review.

Mr. Hook responded to a question from an Iranian citizen in a video posted on the US State Department’s Twitter account.

According to Mr. Hook, the Islamic Republic “makes it difficult to review the background of its citizens.”

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Background and record checks of individuals for issuing travel visas and residence in the United States are mandatory, as they are in other countries.

The head of the Iran Action Group at the US State Department also expressed hope in this video that Tehran will “take the necessary steps to share the background records of its citizens” in order to reduce travel restrictions for Iranians to the United States.

Donald Trump signed an order in December 2016 through which the entry of Iranian nationals and citizens of six other countries into US soil was suspended for at least 90 days.

Mr. Trump also asked the US Department of Homeland Security under this order to determine within 30 days which countries are not providing sufficient information about citizens seeking visas.

Source: Radio Farda