Iraq, Iran Hit US Citizens With Retaliatory Travel Bans

International criticism of President Trump’s immigration ban executive order is picking up, and not just from the nations directly affected by the move. Still, two of the seven nations brought under full visa bans, Iraq and Iran, were the first to retaliate.

Iraq was the first to respond with a retaliatory ban on American citizens, announcing that they’re going to implement the exact same ban the Trump Administration does, restricting all US citizens, even those with visas from entering the country. Iraqi officials say the ban will be lifted as soon as President Trump lifts his ban.

This had been expected even before Trump had actually signed his ban, as there was considerable public anger within Iraq about the reports they were on the ban list, and a lot of calls to retaliate. The bans threaten to significantly complicate business relationships between the US and Iraq.

Iran wasn’t exactly hyping their retaliatory ban, but it had an immediate, tangible impact for one of the nation’s professional basketball teams, Azad University Tehran. The team had taken its players to Dubai for a vacation before the ban and retaliatory ban happened, and two players who are US citizens have found themselves stranded in Dubai for the time being, much as the US ban has impacted a lot of travelers and would-be vacationers.

The basketball team is said to be lobbying the government to make an exception for the two, but aren’t optimistic. The players reportedly stand to lose six figure salaries if they are unable to play out the remainder of the season.