Just 24 hours after Donald Trump announced his “Muslim ban”, the country of Iran is fighting back.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry called Trump’s immigration ban an “a flagrant insult to the Muslim world” and promised to retaliate on Saturday.
In a statement released in response to the ban, which temporarily prohibits citizens of seven Muslim countries from entering the U.S., the ministry warned that Trump’s move would only help terrorist groups in their recruiting efforts.
“The United States administration’s decision to impose a ban against Muslims’ travel to the US – though for a temporary three-month period – is a flagrant insult to the Muslim world, specially the great Iranian nation; and despite claims about confronting terrorism and protecting security of the American people, it will be recorded in the history as a great gift to extremists and their sponsors,” the statement said. The ban, which includes Iran, “has targeted the Iranian people and is an obvious insult to each and every member of the Iranian nation,” the ministry said.
Iran’s announcement that it would ban U.S. citizens from traveling there is the latest fallout from Trump’s order. The action stirred controversy almost immediately after it was signed, as refugees were detained upon their arrival at U.S. airports.
Trump took a hardline stance on Iran during his 2016 presidential bid, blasting a 2015 agreement negotiated under the Obama administration that was aimed at reining in the country’s nuclear program.
