Iran has announced visa-free travel for citizens of 28 countries, including citizens of five Persian Gulf countries – UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. This means that nationals of these countries will no longer require a tourist visa to enter Iran. Omani passport holders already enjoy a visa-free facility to visit Iran. The Iranian Ambassador to Kuwait, Mohammad Toutounchi, announced that starting from February 4, nationals of 27 other countries, including India, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tunisia, Mauritania, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Seychelles, Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Mexico, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, and Belarus, will also be exempted from the entry visa. Kuwaitis and Kuwait’s stateless Bidoons will also be exempted from the entry visa. Toutounchi made this announcement at a ceremony marking Iran’s National Day, according to Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas.
The Iranian ambassador has confirmed that the visa waiver applies to both ordinary and diplomatic passport holders. This means that visitors can go to Iran for tourism every six months and stay for 15 days, which cannot be extended. Relations between Iran and Gulf countries have been improving lately. In March of last year, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to re-establish their diplomatic ties after a long rupture, thanks to a China-brokered deal.