Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization Chief Masoud Soltanifar penned separate letters on Monday to Director-General of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Taleb Rifai and Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova, calling on them to express a serious reaction to the US ‘wrong policy’ in regard to the Visa Waiver Program changes.
“The US political move adopted with an aim to put limits on traveling to Iran and ultimately harming the country’s tourism industry, besides being contrary to international laws and regulations, is in a fundamental contrast to the peaceful objectives of tourism,” Soltanifar wrote in the letters.
Highlighting the significant role of tourism in expanding and deepening friendly ties among nations and governments, the Iranian minister maintained that the nature of tourism is closely associated with mutual respect and runs counter to any acts of violence and extremism. He added that as a result, the consequences of any kind of unrest and insecurity would first target the ‘dynamic, humanitarian and peace-oriented tourism industry.’
Soltanifar strongly condemned the adoption of such legislations that would seriously challenge and undermine programs focused on sustainable development, calling on UNESCO and UNWTO to become in tuned with world public opinion and voice their strong opposition to such wrong decisions.
Washington passed a law on Saturday which requires nationals from 38 countries who were previously exempt from obtaining a visa to visit the US to apply for a visa through standard measures in case they have traveled to Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan in the past five years.
The move has met with strong opposition from Iran which prompted the US Secretary of State John Kerry to confirmed to Zarif in a letter on Sunday that the US government is fully committed to the sanctions lifting provided for under the JCPOA and have ‘a number of potential tools available’ so that the new visa law will not pose any obstacle to Iran’s economic interests.
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