The State Department is dodging congressional inquiries about whether it will try to spare Iranians from tighter travel rules, in order to ensure the rules don’t violate U.S. commitments under the Iran nuclear agreement.
Legislation passed in December prevents anyone who traveled to Iran since 2011 from being allowed to enter the U.S. without a visa, under the U.S. visa waiver program that’s normally used for trusted partner countries.
In December, State told reporters explicitly that the tough, new law could be waived in some cases, to ensure “legitimate business travel to Iran can still occur.”
That prompted Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., to ask Secretary of State John Kerry how the law would be implemented. But while State has already spoken publicly about waiving the new law for Iran, the letter Pompeo got back hedged.
“The administration will carry out the law that Congress passed and that the president signed,” State said in its reply that was given to the Washington Examiner, ignoring Pompeo’s specific question about whether the law would be waived. Pompeo also asked if the administration thinks Iran’s business interests rank higher than U.S. national security, but State’s letter ignored that as well.
The letter only confirmed that State is working with the Department of Homeland Security on how to implement the new law.
“At this time, no determination has been made as to how the waiver provision would be implemented,” it added.
Omri Ceren of the Israel Project said there’s some suspicion that State is trying to avoid questions about the waiver until the Iran nuclear agreement is implemented, something that could happen in a matter of days.
