Iran Revokes Visa Rules for 33 Countries: Russia, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia

Azadi Square di Tehran, Iran. (Wikimedia Commons/Stefano Vigorelli)

JAKARTA - Iranian authorities announced the lifting of visa rules for visitors from 33 countries, including Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, which for years had strained relations with Tehran before the recent restoration.

"The Ministry of Tourism believes that the open door policy will show Iran's determination to establish relations with various countries in the world," reported the semi-official ISNA news agency, reported by Reuters, December 15.

The decision will increase the number of countries or regions whose citizens can visit Iran to 45 without needing to obtain a visa, he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Ezzatollah Zarghami said the cancellation of visa requirements had been approved at a government meeting on Wednesday this week, quoted from Iran International.

Furthermore, the countries that will benefit from this visa revocation are from Asia (17 countries), Africa (6), Europe (5) and Latin America (5).

In detail, Asian countries include India, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam.

From Europe there are Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and Belarus. Meanwhile in Latin America this applies to Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela. And in Africa including Tunisia, Mauritania, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Seychelles.

It is known that the inclusion of Saudi Arabia on the list indicates an increasingly thawing of relations between the two countries, which have been strained for years since diplomatic relations between the two were severed in 2016. Tehran and Riyadh agreed to restore relations based on a China-brokered agreement in March this year.

"Russian citizens will only benefit from this visa exemption if they visit the country in groups," ISNA added.

According to statistics from Iran's Ministry of Cultural Heritage, during the six months of the current year, 3,354,185 people traveled to the country.