US preventing entry of Iranian vocalist, fresh sanctions prove hostility towards nation: State official

The Iranian administration's spokesman has slammed the United States for preventing the entry of an Iranian traditional vocalist under baseless claims, saying such actions prove Washington’s hostility toward the people of Iran.

In a post on his Twitter account on Saturday, Ali Bahadori Jahromi said the US has a clear record of not keeping promises and breaching principles of the international and human rights regulations.

The measures by the United States to impose new sanctions on Tehran and prevent the entry of Iranian vocalist Alireza Ghorbani under baseless claims show Washington's hostility towards the Iranian people under any circumstances.

Ghorbani was travelling to California to perform at a concert in the city of Irvine celebrating the Persian New Year, Nowruz. But on March 25, US border patrol officers at Toronto Airport in Canada interrogated him and canceled his US visa, preventing him from traveling.

Iranian traditional vocalist interrogated by US agents, denied entry

Iranian traditional vocalist Alireza Ghorbani has been interrogated by agents in an airport in Toronto and denied US entry over his military service in the IRGC.

The 49-year-old traditional vocalist had attributed the entry ban to his military service in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Beginning at age 18, Iranian men are required to complete up to two years of military service and are essentially drafted to serve, including in the IRGC.

The White House, under the Donald Trump administration, designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization in 2019. It was the first time Washington had designated an element of a foreign state as a terrorist entity, setting a bad precedent in international relations.

In response, Iran declared all US forces in the Middle East terrorists and called the US government a sponsor of terrorism.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington peaked in January 2020, when the US assassinated the IRGC’s prominent General Qassem Soleimani, to which Iran responded by firing a barrage of missiles toward a US base in Iraq.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on an individual and companies linked with him for providing assistance to Iran’s ballistic missile program.

In its statement, the Treasury said the new sanctions target the companies that procured ballistic missile propellant-related materials for a unit of the IRGC that is responsible for the research and development of ballistic missiles.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh on Thursday slammed the newly-imposed sanctions as yet another sign of Washington’s ill intent in treating the Iranian nation, saying the move shows America misses no opportunity to exert pressure on the country.

New ill-intentioned sanctions show US misses no chance to pressure Iranians: Foreign Ministry

Iran says the new US sanctions against Tehran prove that Washington uses every opportunity to put pressure on the Iranian people.

“It clearly proves the fact that the current US administration, contrary to its claims, uses every opportunity to level baseless accusations and put pressure on the Iranian people,” he added.

The US claims that it is ready to resume compliance with the 2015 Iran deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), while it still continues to violate the agreement and UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorses it, the Iranian spokesperson said.

Iran has been hit by drastic unilateral sanctions, imposed by Washington after Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and targeted the Iranian economy with what he called a “maximum pressure” campaign despite Iran’s full compliance with its nuclear obligations under the deal.

Negotiations were launched between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties in Vienna last April to bring the US back into compliance with the accord under the Joe Biden administration.

However, Washington has imposed several sanctions against Iran since the talks began, in what has been perceived in Tehran as s demonstration of bad faith. 

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