House Republican leaders want Secretary of State John Kerry to back off plans to waive new visa requirements for some Iranians and those who have traveled to Iran for business purposes.
In a letter signed by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and five GOP committee chairmen, the lawmakers told Kerry they are “deeply concerned” he is negotiating a deal with the Iranian government that would lift some of the requirements.
They also suggested Kerry is reneging on the terms of the visa waiver law that were closely negotiated between Congress and the Obama administration.
The requirements were included in the fiscal 2016 spending bill signed into law by President Obama last week. They end the visa waiver privilege for passport holders from Iran as well as Syria, Iraq and Sudan and those who have traveled to any of the four countries.
Kerry sent a letter on Saturday to Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in which he suggested the United States might waive the new requirements for those who have traveled to Iran for business purposes.
“Not only was such an exemption from the law not included in the legislation, it was specifically discussed during bill negotiations with administration staff and expressly refused by members of Congress,” GOP lawmakers wrote in the letter to Kerry.
Lawmakers said in the letter they have made “repeated attempts” to get a clarification of Kerry’s intent from the State Department, but that officials there “continue to refuse to say that the waiver authority could not be used to allow business travelers to Iran access to the visa waiver program.”
Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism.
According to the State Department, “Iran continued its terrorist-related activity in 2014, including support for Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza, Lebanese Hizballah, and various groups in Iraq and throughout the Middle East.”
