US anti-Iran visa law politically motivated: Pundit

Press TV has conducted an interview with Hamed Mousavi, an adjunct professor with the Carleton University from Tehran, on the United States’ decision to impose visa restrictions on Iranians, while the White House claims it is committed to implementing the July nuclear agreement between the P5+1 and Iran.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: What is behind of this law all of sudden and then having it rapidly past with Iran being part of those four countries?

Mousavi: Well, this law is supposedly being passed because of the United States wanting to ensure its homeland security after the attacks in Paris and California. Everybody knows that these attacks were committed by ISIS (Daesh), the fact that the US actually acknowledges.

Now it is very strange that Iran is being targeted by the new law, when it is no secret that Iran is actually the primary opponent of ISIS in the region. On the other hand, countries which have actually funded, supported ISIS in the past few years have not been mentioned at all.

So, even though the law is supposedly passed to ensure homeland security, it seems that it does have some political motives behind it.

Press TV: As far as the information that you have about the law, tell me what exactly does it mean for Iranian nationals who perhaps, I don’t know, live either in Iran or Europe or the United States. Do you know the overall implications of this law?

Mousavi: Here’s the problem with the law. In the past two years, tourism industry in Iran has been gradually improving, now the new law will actually harm that because European nationals, which actually go to the United States without a visa.

If they so chose to come to Iran to visit us as tourist; then, they would need a visa to enter the United States. So, they are basically getting penalized for entering Iran and that would harm Iranian economic interests.

At the same time, after the nuclear agreement Iran is hoping to increase its investments from foreigner businessmen and this law will actually target those businessmen coming from Europe to Iran as well.

By entering Iran after that they would require visa to enter the United States. So, hypothetically and potentially it could harm Iranian interest and that’s why Iranians are angry and saying that this running counter to the nuclear agreement they reach with the P5+1 in Vienna in July this year, which the United States was party to.

Press TV: How do you see it, Mr. Mousavi, do you feel that the United States is trying to implement this law to actually through a backdoor try to punish Iran once again, because we’ve seen over the decades basically trying to hurt Iran financially and in other ways. Now, after the recent nuclear agreement is this just another way of trying to hurt Iranian interest?

Mousavi: Yes, it is of course, I mean, I just pointed out how it’s going to harm Iranian economic interests. The whole point of Iran signing on to the nuclear agreement in July was to have the sanctions lifted.

Now, as part of that agreement the United States was not to implement new sanctions. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for Iran to sign on to an agreement were some sanctions would get eliminated, while new sanctions would get created.

So, the creation of new sanctions runs counter to nuclear agreement reached in Vienna. And of course, I think, it does potentially have the capacity to jeopardize the economic interests of Iran.

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