Sunday 19 August 2018 - 09:35
Story Code : 316332
Iran easing entry rules: Tourists will skip passport border stamps - Reports
Sputnik - Iranian authorities will introduce protectionist measures to support the nation's tourism industry in the wake of unilateral US sanctions on Iran, Mehr news agency reported Saturday.
Iranian media outlet cited Ali Asghar Mounesan, the Iranian vice president and head ofIran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO), who announced that passports offoreign tourists visiting Iran will not have tobe stamped. Proposed legislation forthe move has been drafted and approved bythe head ofICHTO and main the country's Ministries.
"While the statistics provided byimmigration police ofIran show that the number offoreign tourists visiting Iran has increased by38 percent inthe first four months [of the current Iranian year of1397], the number ofEuropean visitors show a slight decline which has affected the functionality ofour 4- and 5-star hotels," Ali Asghar Mounesan was quoted assaying byMehr news agency.
Mounesan stressed that the move will allow an easing of "tourists' concerns aboutvisiting Iran because ofUS sanctions."
Last year, Russia and Iran signed an agreement onvisa-free travel fortourist groups fromfive to50 people. Moscow and Tehran have simplified visa rules inplace fortheir nationals business people, scientists, educators and several other categories oftravelers that has been inforce sinceFebruary 2016.
The resumption ofsanctions againstIran bythe administration ofUS President Donald Trump began inMay when the US withdrew fromthe 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan ofAction (JCPOA), more commonly known asthe Iran nuclear agreement.
On August 7, Trump imposed the first package ofsanctions againstIran, targeting the country's purchase ofUS dollar banknotes, trade ingold and other metals, aswell astransactions involving its national currency.
A second package is set tobe introduced byTrump onNovember 4 that, amongother things, aims tohit Iran's energy sector and oil exports.
On Monday, Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei ruled outthe possibility ofeither waging a war or engaging innegotiations withTrump amidescalated Tehran-Washington tensions.
Tehran has noted that inorder topave the way fortalks withIran, theTrump administration must return tothe JCPOA Iran nuclear deal.Other signatories tothe JCPOA, including China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the European Union, have agreed that the historic agreement must be preserved.
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