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   Vol. 70/No. 32           August 28, 2006  
 
 
U.S. gov’t revokes visas for 100 Iranians
 
BY CINDY JAQUITH  
In early August, more than 100 Iranians traveling to the United States for a reunion in California had their visas revoked, were jailed, and threatened with deportation. The attack on the visitors came as Washington stepped up its campaign against Tehran, which supports Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia group currently fighting against the invading Israeli armed forces.

The Iranians had all received visitor visas to attend a California reunion of alumni of the Sharif University of Technology, the most respected scientific university in Iran. Once they landed in the United States, they were abruptly informed by immigration agents they were unwelcome.

Kourosh Elahidoost, a 49-year-old electrical engineer, told the Los Angeles Times that U.S. officials explained to him that visas cannot be issued to nationals of Iran because it is a “state sponsor of terrorism,” unless the individual can prove he or she is not a “threat” to national security.

Elahidoost was given the choice of withdrawing his request for a visa or being deported and denied entrance to the United States for 5-10 years. He withdrew his application. He was then incarcerated overnight in a Santa Ana jail cell with no bed. He flew out of the country the next day. Other Iranian detainees report being transported with their hands chained to their waists or handcuffed.

The Sharif University of Technology Association, which had organized the reunion, held a news conference to protest the visa denials.
 
 
Related articles:
After cease-fire, Israeli forces begin pullout from Lebanon
Hezbollah: a bourgeois party modeled on Tehran
Toronto: Communist League candidates join protest, oppose Ottawa’s support of Israeli war
10,000 in D.C. protest Israeli attack on Lebanon  
 
 
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