TEHRAN -- Mohammad Motamedi, the vocalist of Iranian ensemble Hamavayan, has lamented a new U.S. program that restricts travel to the country.

In a statement published on Wednesday, Motamedi called the changes to the U.S. visa waiver program an insult to the Iranian people and asked the community of Iranian artists to show a reaction to the U.S. decision.

He said that the U.S. travel restriction will cause “a severe blow to the Iranian tourism industry”.

The U.S. Congress has passed a measure as part of a budget bill that will no longer allow citizens of 38 countries who have either travelled to Iraq, Syria, Iran or Sudan in the past five years or are dual nationals of these states, to travel to the U.S. without a visa.

Based on the changes to the U.S. visa waiver program, which will be implemented in 2016, nationals of 38 countries will be required to apply for a visa with an in-person interview at the U.S. embassies in their countries.

“If you are honest, tell us how you deem Saudi Arabia, which has been the creator of takfiri thoughts and the source terrorism, a friend and ally, but you hurl insults at us and impose sanctions upon us who are currently fighting against the terrorists that you have brought us,” said Motamedi, who is scheduled to perform at Tehran’s Milad Tower next week on Sunday and Monday.

The organizers of the 31st Fajr International Music Festival, which will be held in Tehran during February, are concerned that, due to the new U.S. visa rules, the foreign musicians invited to the event will cancel their travel to Iran.

“The government should make the necessary arrangements too, so that we would have no serious trouble organizing the festival,” the director of the festival, Hamidreza Nurbakhsh told the Persian service of MNA on Wednesday.

Iran has invited artists from around the world to the Fajr festivals on film, theater and music, which are organized annually during February to celebrate the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Hamavayan vocalist Mohammad Motamedi attends a press conference at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on December 22, 2015 to brief the media about the ensemble’s Iranian tour, which will begin next week in Tehran. (Mehr/Hossein Razzqnejad)

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