US freezes visas for 75 countries including Russia and Iran

The Trump administration on Wednesday is freezing immigrant visa processing for 75 countries, including Russia and Iran as the president threatens military strikes against the ayatollah. The State Department released an internal memo directing consular officers to deny visas while the department reexamines procedures for screening and vetting applicants. Some of the countries included in the visa freeze are Iraq, Nigeria, Brazil, Afghanistan, Somalia, Thailand, Yemen, and Pakistan.

The pause comes after Trump is deliberating options to strike Iran following nationwide protests against the Islamic regime. The State Department is expected to implement the indefinite freeze on January 21. The memo also directs consular officer to deny visas applicants who will need to reply on public benefits upon entry to the US. Officers are also instructed to weigh a variety of factors for applicants, including health, age, and English proficiency.

‘The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people,’ State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said. ‘Immigration from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.’ The State Department will also provide exceptions for some visa applications under the new pause but it will be ‘very limited.’

The President last night warned that if Ayatollah Ali Khamenei goes forward with hangings on Wednesday, he will take ‘strong action.’ Trump is said to have been briefed in recent days about his options, including strikes on nonmilitary sites in Tehran. On June 13 last year, hours after Israellaunched its attack on Iranian nuclear and missile sites, the Wing of Zion took off from Ben Gurion Airport. Desperate families of relatives who have been persecuted by the Iranian regime amid the uprising have called on Trump to intervene.

Already, a bloody security force crackdown on the protests has killed at least 2,571, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported. Trump told CBS News: ‘If they [Iran] hang them, you’re going to see something’. But Iran ignored the US President’s threats and vowed to fast-track executions after detaining 18,000 protesters as the regime continues its brutal crackdown on anti-government riots.

The head of Iran’s judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, signalled Wednesday that there would be fast trials and executions ahead for those detained, saying: ‘If a person burned someone, beheaded someone and set them on fire then we must do our work quickly.’ The US ordered the evacuation of air bases in the region, including an unspecified number from a site in Qatar by Wednesday evening. Al Udeid, the largest American base in the Middle East, houses 10,000 troops and was targeted by Iran in June in retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear facilities.