Iran summons Swiss ambassador over US ban on Muslim entry

Iran has summoned the Swiss Ambassador to Tehran, Giulio Haas, to protest against the US president's discriminatory decision to restrict arrivals into the country from the Islamic Republic and six other Muslim states, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman says.

According to Press TV, in a meeting on Sunday, the director general for the Americas at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Mohammad Keshavarz-Zadeh, handed over an official letter of protest to the Swiss envoy, who represents the US interests in Tehran, Bahram Qassemi said

The Iranian diplomat told the Swiss envoy that the executive order by US President Donald Trump has been issued under "fictitious, discriminatory and unacceptable" pretexts and runs counter to human rights conventions and a legal and consular treaty signed between Tehran and Washington in August 15, 1955, Qassemi added.

The spokesperson said Keshavarz-Zadeh had stressed the importance of protecting the Iranian citizens’ rights and said Iranians have been a victim of US-backed terrorist groups for decades and have not been involved in any operation by extremist and terrorist groups.

It was announced to the Swiss ambassador that Iranians have always been law-abiding citizens wherever they have settled, Qassemi added.

Haas said he is aware of reactions to Trump’s recent order in Iran and added that he would promptly communicate the protest to the US State Department.

In a move which sparked widespread censure, the new US president signed a sweeping executive order on Friday to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

SS