The US State Department has launched a fresh initiative to alert Americans, with emphasis on Iranian Americans, claim grave dangers in visiting Iran. This announcement was made by State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, who strongly advised against travel to Iran, particularly for those with Iranian heritage.During a press conference on Thursday (local time), Bruce said that Iran does not acknowledge dual citizenship and restricts consular access to US citizens in detention. She introduced a new website specifically designed to warn Americans about Iranian travel risks.Bruce said, “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 further 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 recent tensions involving conflicts between Israel and Iran, including US strikes on Iranian facilities.President Donald Trump recently expressed hope for avoiding further military engagement with Iran, indicating that Tehran seeks dialogue. He spoke at a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (local time).Trump had said, “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 whilst noting trust-building challenges due to previous US and Israeli actions, according to Al Jazeera.The situation escalated on June 13 when Israel initiated “Operation Rising Lion”, conducting extensive strikes on Iranian facilities, including Natanz and Fordow nuclear sites, missile facilities, and IRGC bases.The operation resulted in casualties among IRGC leadership and nuclear scientists. The US followed with “Operation Midnight Hammer” on June 22, targeting Iranian nuclear infrastructure.Iran responded with missile strikes against Israel and an attack on a US airbase in Qatar. Tehran condemned these operations as violations of international law and the UN Charter.
