US Lawmakers Urge Blocking Entry To Iranian Officials

In a letter to the State Department, 27 members of the House of Representatives have urged the Biden administration to ban the entry of Iranian officials to the United States.

“We must not offer the Iranian regime the privilege of setting foot on US soil or the validation of speaking at the United Nations,” read the bipartisan letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The lawmakers referred to the involvement of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in the massacre of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 and his current role in suppressing dissidents in the country, calling for “the denial of visas to President Raisi and any government officials or organizations connected to the regime.”

In 1988, Raisi was a member of an ad hoc judicial committee known as the “Death Commission,” responsible for deciding the fates of prisoners during summary trials that were held in secret.

According to the bipartisan group, the Iranian government continues to destabilize the region by funding, training and supplying its proxies, such as Hamas, Yemeni Houthis and Hezbollah, which target American forces in the region and seek to destroy Washington’s ally, Israel.

“The barbaric October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was a stark wake-up call about the threats Iranian-backed terrorist groups pose to both Israelis and Americans,” the letter added.

Over the past years and particularly, following the 2022 nationwide uprising, Iranian political activists and opposition figures have called on Western countries not to issue visas for regime officials and block their presence in international organizations.

Back in January, the World Economic Forum was urged to revoke its invitation to Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian over his close links to the IRGC.