Iraq could join Iran in banning Americans from entering

A ban on U.S. citizens from entering Iraq could affect the war on ISIS.
(Image credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

The Iraqi parliament has approved a "reciprocity measure" banning Americans from entering Iraq in response to President Donald Trump's inclusion of the nation in his immigration ban, The Associated Press reports. Iraq had initially appeared as if it was not going to move forward with such a ban while Iran indicated it intends to institute its own version of a reciprocal ban, the Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry said Saturday.

Iraq said Sunday that it understands why Trump issued the executive order but asked that America's "special relationship" with Iraq, where the U.S. has been at war since 2003, be taken into consideration. "This decision by the U.S. is arbitrary," Intisar Al-Jabbouri, a member of parliament from northern Iraq, said according to Time. "The Iraqi government has the right to reciprocate."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.