The Trump administration on Thursday banned all members of the Iranian regime and their family members from entering the United States, a move aimed at stopping regime figures from sending their children to America for schooling and other opportunities.
"The President announced a presidential proclamation restricting entry into the United States for senior Iranian government officials and members of their families," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a notice to reporters.
"For years, Iranian officials and their family members have quietly taken advantage of America's freedom and prosperity, including excellent educational, employment, entertainment, and cultural opportunities in the United States," Pompeo said. "Under this proclamation, designated senior regime officials and their families will no longer be allowed entry into the United States."
"No longer will elites reap the benefits of a free society while the Iranian people suffer under the regime's corruption and mismanagement," according to the State Department.
Iranian regime figures have long taken advantage of America's educational institutions, with many sending their children to the United States for college.
This will immediately end, according to the Trump administration.
"The Government of Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism," the State Department said. "The regime has destabilized the Persian Gulf region with attacks on oil and shipping infrastructure. Their support for the Houthis in Yemen and Shia militias in Iraq and Syria contribute to the regional instability and the humanitarian crises in those countries. The Iranian regime continues to suppress members of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, as well as unjustly detaining foreign citizens to perpetuate their foreign policy aims."
"America will no longer allow senior Iranian regime officials or their family members to continue to travel to the United States while their people suffer," according to the Trump administration.