FRIENDLY

Trump Offers Holiday Greeting to Iran

Makes no mention of travel ban.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday had nothing but warm words for Iranians marking the country’s New Year holiday, praising the day as a way to celebrate “new beginnings.” Trump, who has sought to temporarily ban Iranians from entering the U.S. as part of his crackdown on immigration, made no mention of tensions between the two countries in his holiday message to mark Nowruz, one of Iran’s most celebrated events. “Nowruz means ‘new day’ in Persian. It is an occasion to celebrate new beginnings, a sentiment that is particularly meaningful for so many Iranians who have come to our country in recent decades to make a new start in a free land,” he said in a statement issued by the White House. “For many years, I have greatly enjoyed wonderful friendships with Iranian Americans, one of the most successful immigrant groups in our country’s contemporary history,” he said. Trump’s latest executive order on immigration sought to ban citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for 90 days.