The foreign minister of Iceland, Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV that the ministry is extremely troubled by the barring of Icelandic Taekwondo champion from travelling to the US. Yesterday an Icelandic citizen who was born in Iran, Meisam Rafiei, was barred from flying to the US where he was going to compete in a International Taekwondo competition in Las Vegas.
Read more: Trump's travel ban: Icelandic Taekwondo champion barred from competing in the US Open
Meisam who was born in Iran has dual Icelandic and Iranian citizenship. Iran is one of the seven countries affected by Donald Trump's travel ban.
A formal protest by the Icelandic authorities
At a meeting earlier today Guðlaugur Þór met with Benjamin Ziff, a deputy assistant secretary at the US State Department, who is in Iceland. He used the occasion to formally protest the decision to bar Meisam from competing in the US. He also used the occasion to protest Trump's executive order to withhold funds from any international organizations which support family planning and women's right to choose.
Guðlaugur Þór told RUV that the Icelandic authorities will do everything it can to help Meisam in this case, and any other Icelanders who might find themselves in a similar situation. The foreign ministry will be in contact with its US counterpart as well as the US Embassy in Iceland. However, a new US Ambassador to Iceland has not yet been appointed after former Ambassador, Robert Barber left the country.
The foreign minister of Iceland, Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV that the ministry is extremely troubled by the barring of Icelandic Taekwondo champion from travelling to the US. Yesterday an Icelandic citizen who was born in Iran, Meisam Rafiei, was barred from flying to the US where he was going to compete in a International Taekwondo competition in Las Vegas.
Read more: Trump's travel ban: Icelandic Taekwondo champion barred from competing in the US Open
Meisam who was born in Iran has dual Icelandic and Iranian citizenship. Iran is one of the seven countries affected by Donald Trump's travel ban.
A formal protest by the Icelandic authorities
At a meeting earlier today Guðlaugur Þór met with Benjamin Ziff, a deputy assistant secretary at the US State Department, who is in Iceland. He used the occasion to formally protest the decision to bar Meisam from competing in the US. He also used the occasion to protest Trump's executive order to withhold funds from any international organizations which support family planning and women's right to choose.
Guðlaugur Þór told RUV that the Icelandic authorities will do everything it can to help Meisam in this case, and any other Icelanders who might find themselves in a similar situation. The foreign ministry will be in contact with its US counterpart as well as the US Embassy in Iceland. However, a new US Ambassador to Iceland has not yet been appointed after former Ambassador, Robert Barber left the country.
