Iraq urges US to review 'wrong' travel ban: ministry

Iraq's foreign ministry called today for the United States to review the travel ban affecting Iraqi citizens, describing it as the "wrong decision".
President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring citizens of Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen from entering the US for at least 90 days, a move he billed as an effort to make America safe from "radical Islamic terrorists".
"We see it as necessary for the new American administration to review this wrong decision," the ministry said in a statement.
"It is very unfortunate that this decision was issued towards an allied state linked by strategic partnership with the United States," it said.

The ministry noted that the US move "coincides with victories achieved by (Iraq's) brave fighters and with the support of the international coalition against the Daesh terrorist gangs in Mosul," referring to the battle to retake the city from the Islamic State jihadist group.
Trump's decision led to the detention of incoming refugees at US airports, sparking protests, legal challenges and widespread condemnation from rights groups.
The travel restrictions, which come on the heels of repeated assertions by Trump that the US should have stolen Iraq's oil before leaving in 2011, risk alienating the citizens and government of a country fighting against militants the president has cast as a major threat to America.