BAGHDAD (AP) – Iraq welcomed its removal from a revised U.S. travel ban on Monday, calling it a “positive message” at a time when American and Iraqi forces are battling the Islamic State group.
Iraq was among seven Muslim-majority countries whose nationals were temporarily banned from traveling to the United States in an earlier order issued by President Donald Trump in January, which was blocked by the courts.
The White House had said the earlier ban was needed to prevent terrorists from entering the country, but has now removed Iraq from the list under pressure from the State Department and the Defense Department, which had noted the close cooperation between the two countries in battling IS militants in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
The revised order is narrower and specifies that a 90-day ban on people from Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen does not apply to those who already have valid visas.
Iraqi government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi said the revision to the travel ban shows that the two countries have a “real partnership.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Jamal said it “reinforces the strategic alliance between Baghdad and Washington in many areas in the forefront in the fight against terrorism.”