Iranian Official Claims Obama Granted US Citizenship to 2,500 Iranians – Reports

Over 2,000 Iranians allegedly received US citizenship within the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as Iran nuclear deal, courtesy of the Obama administration.

Hojjat al-Islam Mojtaba Zolnour, chairman of Iran’s parliamentary nuclear committee, has announced that some 2,500 Iranians were allegedly granted US citizenship by the White House in 2015, Fox News reports.

"When Obama, during the negotiations about the JCPOA, decided to do a favor to these men, he granted citizenship to 2,500 Iranians and some officials started a competition over whose children could be part of these 2,500 Iranians," Zolnour said.

He also remarked that if these people end up getting deported, "it will become clear who is complicit and sells the national interest like he is selling candies to America."

According to Zolnour, only up to 60 of these people had been studying in the United States while the rest had been working in the country "against our national interests."

Former Obama State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, however, said that Zolnour’s claims sounded "like totally made up BS," Fox News points out.

READ MORE: Iran Still Awaits for EU Proposals on Preserving Nuclear Deal — Tehran

In May, the United States withdrew from the JCPOA, restoring wide-ranging sanctions on Iran. Besides Iranian companies and individuals, the restrictions also target financial institutions of other countries that do business with Tehran.