OVERREACTION

Ex-PM of Norway Held at Dulles Over Past Iran Trip

“It should be enough when they found that I have a diplomatic passport.”

The former prime minister of Norway was held and questioned at Dulles Airport on Tuesday over a trip he made to Iran in 2014, the diplomat told reporters. Kjell Magne Bondevik said he was not allowed to leave on Tuesday afternoon after customs agents saw the stamp in his passport, despite the fact that the document also indicates he used to be the prime minister of Norway, a longtime ally of the U.S. “Of course I fully understand the fear of letting terrorists come into this country,” Bondevik said, adding, “It should be enough when they found that I have a diplomatic passport, [that I’m a] former prime minister. That should be enough for them to understand that I don’t represent any problem or threat to this country and [to] let me go immediately, but they didn’t.” Bondevik was put in a room with travelers who were facing additional scrutiny in the wake of President Trump’s executive order, and then he was questioned in detail about his Iran trip. He was in the country to speak at a human-rights conference on behalf of The Oslo Center, he said. “I was surprised, and I was provoked,” Bondevik said. “What will the reputation of the U.S. be if this happens not only to me, but also to other international leaders?”