Iranian traditional vocalist interrogated by US agents, denied entry

Iranian traditional vocalist Alireza Ghorbani could not perform in California last week after US agents interrogated for hours and denied him entry.

According to Press TV, organizers of the sold-out celebration of the Persian New Year, Nowruz, said the 49-year-old was unable to attend the ceremony after being detained by agents in an airport in Toronto on Friday, and refused entry to the United States following an interrogation.

“He got on his flight, sat on his seat and some [US immigration] officers got on the flight and took him out,” said Alireza Ardekani, Executive Director for the Los Angeles-area nonprofit Farhang Foundation, which collaborated with the Pacific Symphony to host the Nowruz event.

“They interrogated him for nearly four hours and eventually told him his visa was going to be canceled and he could no longer travel to the US,” Ardekani said.

 “I just got a text saying he was not allowed to come — I thought it was a joke,” he added.

Ardekani later learned Ghorbani’s temporary detention and denial of travel was connected to his military service.

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 Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

The White House, under the 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 West Asia 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 anti-terror Commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani, to which Iran responded by firing a barrage of missiles at two US bases in Iraq.

Under the Biden administration, the US promised to pursue a less confrontational policy toward Iran. It entered negotiations held in Austria’s capital, Vienna, to rejoin the Trump-ditched Iran deal and remove his so-called maximum pressure sanctions, which included the IRGC designation.

Nevertheless, the Vienna talks have been protracted by America’s excessive demands and its failure to remove all the sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic since the Iran deal went into force in early 2016.

ME