KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The Obama administration hopes that the nuclear deal it negotiated with Iran
may one day lead to broader cooperation. But the State Department has
some cautionary words for Americans who think the reconciliation is
already underway.
“This deal over Iran’s nuclear program does not alter the United States’ assessment of the risks of travel to Iran for U.S. citizens,” says a travel warning the agency issued on Wednesday.
“Dual national Iranian-American citizens may encounter difficulty in departing Iran,” it says.
Advisories
for Americans who travel abroad are regularly published by the State
Department. The latest entry on Iran follows a warning in January, and
it was made public the day President Obama defended the nuclear accord in a major speech at American University in Washington.
While
many United States citizens, including Iranian-Americans, travel to and
from Iran without problems, there have been some notable exceptions.
Iran is currently holding three Americans of Iranian descent:
Jason Rezaian, a reporter for The Washington Post; Amir Hekmati, a
Marine veteran from Flint, Mich.; and Saeed Abedini, of Boise, Idaho,
who was sentenced to eight years in prison for establishing a private
network of churches. A fourth American, Robert A. Levinson, vanished
there eight years ago.
Secretary
of State John Kerry, who traveled here for a regional meeting on
security issues, and other senior United States officials urged Iran to
free the Americans in discussions with their Iranian counterparts on the
margins of the nuclear talks. In a television appearance last month,
Mr. Kerry said he was “very hopeful” that Iran would “do the right
thing.”
As
much as the administration hopes at least some of the Americans will be
released in the wake of the nuclear accord, the State Department
warning reflects concerns that Iran could detain other visitors,
particularly Iranian-Americans, on false charges or make it hard for
them to leave.
“Since
2009, Iranian authorities have prevented the departure, in some cases
for several months, of a number of Iranian-American citizens, including
journalists and academics, who traveled to Iran for personal or
professional reasons,” the warning says, repeating language from the
January notification. “Iranian authorities also have unjustly detained
or imprisoned U.S. citizens on various charges, including espionage and
posing a threat to national security.”
With
no formal diplomatic relations, the United States relies on the Swiss
Embassy in Tehran to provide services to traveling Americans. But there
is a catch, the State Department notes.
“The
Iranian government does not recognize dual citizenship and will not
allow the Swiss to provide protective services for U.S. citizens who are
also Iranian nationals,” it says.
News By @ Ann Dadow
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