And finally… land of the free

27 Jun 2018

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A former NATO chief was denied an automatic visa waiver for entry to the US because records showed he had travelled to Iran – where he had assisted negotiations on Iran’s nuclear deal with the West.

Javiar Solana, a Spanish politician, was NATO secretary-general from 1995–99 and has held other major security roles since.

He travelled to Iran in 2013 to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Rouhani on behalf of Western negotiators, including the US.

However, because of the trip, he has been denied visa-free access to the US and will now have to go through the visa application process.

Mr Solana said: “What they have is a computer with an algorithm, and if it knows that you went to Iran recently, it takes you off the system.

“I’m going to try and make sure they let me go over, I need to go as I work there, I’m a professor in several universities.”