‘Do not travel to Iran’: US issues fresh advisory citing dual nationality recognition; launches warning website

State departnment briefing

The US State Department has launched a fresh initiative to alert Americans, with emphasis on Iranian Americans, declare grave risks in visiting Iran. This announcement was made by State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, who strongly suggested towards travel to Iran, notably for these with Iranian heritage.During a press convention on Thursday (native time), Bruce mentioned that Iran does not acknowledge dual citizenship and restricts consular entry to US residents in detention. She launched a brand new website particularly designed to warn Americans about Iranian travel dangers.Bruce mentioned, “The department is announcing a new awareness campaign warning Americans, especially Iranian Americans, about the continuing severe risks of travel to Iran. The Iranian regime does not recognize dual nationality and routinely denies consular services to detained US citizens. And while the bombing has stopped, that does not mean that it is safe to travel to Iran, it is not. We are also launching a new website dedicated to warning Americans against travel to Iran. And there you have it (Pointing to the website displayed on the screen). You can get that website starting at state.gov…I think if you go to state.gov, you do a search, you will find that quite easily.”She additional added, “The message is clear as you can tell in multiple languages. Our travel advisories are there as well. They remain in place and we cannot stress enough as we continue to do as I have multiple times from this podium. Do not travel to Iran especially those of you who are the dual citizens who have Iranian heritage. It is not safe for anyone to travel to Iran. And again, this supplements also the existing travel advisories. It does not supplant them at travel.state.gov. Our message is clear, I think so.”This advisory follows current tensions involving conflicts between Israel and Iran, together with US strikes on Iranian services.President Donald Trump not too long ago expressed hope for avoiding additional army engagement with Iran, indicating that Tehran seeks dialogue. He spoke at a White House assembly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (native time).Trump had mentioned, “I hope we’re not going to have to do that. I can’t imagine wanting to do that. I can’t imagine them wanting to do that. They (Iran) want to meet … They want to work something out. They are very different now than they were two weeks ago.”Regarding potential discussions with Iran, Trump confirmed scheduled talks, stating, “We’re going to have a meeting…We’ll see what happens. We have scheduled Iran talks. They want to talk. They took a big drubbing, I think, when we hit the three sites.”Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed readiness for dialogue with the US while noting trust-building challenges due to earlier US and Israeli actions, in accordance to Al Jazeera.The scenario escalated on June 13 when Israel initiated “Operation Rising Lion”, conducting intensive strikes on Iranian services, together with Natanz and Fordow nuclear websites, missile services, and IRGC bases.The operation resulted in casualties amongst IRGC management and nuclear scientists. The US adopted with “Operation Midnight Hammer” on June 22, focusing on Iranian nuclear infrastructure.Iran responded with missile strikes towards Israel and an assault on a US airbase in Qatar. Tehran condemned these operations as violations of worldwide legislation and the UN Charter.