Iranian scientists have visas revoked on eve of meeting in U.S.

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Iranian scientists have visas revoked on eve of meeting in U.S.


SAN JOSE, Calif. - It was supposed to be an academic gathering about earthquakes. But a political temblor bouncing all the way from the war-torn Middle East shook a meeting of elite Iranian scientists and engineers in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday when dozens of their colleagues arrived to find their visas had been inexplicably revoked.

U.S. consular officials in Washington, D.C., declined to comment on why as many as 100 people with the Sharif University of Technology Association, who carried valid visas approved months ago, were detained over the last week when they arrived at San Francisco International and other airports from Iran.

The three-day conference at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara is tied to the 100th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, as well as recent earthquakes in Iran.

Leaders of the California-based technology group, known as SUTA, said the actions of the U.S. government were clearly political.

"This must be retaliation for what's going on in the region," said Fredun Hojabri, a retired University of California-San Diego professor and SUTA founding president. "We're a non-profit, non-religious, non-political organization . . . our first reunion was in 2000 in San Diego. They know all about us."

Laura Tischler, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs, declined to comment on the case of detained and deported Iranians, citing confidentiality.

Visas "can be revoked at anytime, when there are indications of possibility of ineligibility for admission," she said.

The United States has accused Iran of supplying and supporting Hezbollah, a militant group in a conflict with Israel in southern Lebanon. Before violence broke out a month ago, the U.S. government was at odds with Iran over its nuclear program, alleged involvement with the Iraqi insurgency and anti-Western and anti-Israel statements from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Denied travelers were given the choice to withdraw their applications and head home, or face a ban on applying for future U.S. visas if they contested the revocation, SUTA representatives said.

Most chose simply to return home, but not after spending the night in "jail-like" conditions with spouses and children in some cases.

"We're here in a country known for law and order," said Max Panahandeh, principal at Berkeley Applied Science and Engineering Inc. whose engineering colleague was detained at San Francisco International overnight before being put on a plane back to Tehran on Friday. "You don't expect to see these kinds of incidents that are common in other countries. These individuals are highly professional and coming with families and children. To keep them in a setup like a prison or jail environment is against their human rights."

San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who is of Iranian heritage, condemned the action of customs and immigration officials and tried contacting the offices of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., but had yet to hear back Friday.

"Everyone should be concerned that rights have been breached," Mirkarimi said at a San Francisco news conference called by SUTA on Friday.

SUTA is expecting about 650 people this weekend from around the world at its meeting, which is held every two years in cities around the world. About 120 Sharif alumni and professors in Tehran were granted visas out of about 300 who applied after rigorous security checks, said Elahe Enssani, a civil engineering professor at San Francisco State University and a Sharif graduate. They obtained visas in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and other countries because the United States does not have diplomatic ties with Iran.

Enssani said the group doesn't know how many people were turned away at airports, but 15 people were allowed to enter from Tehran two weeks ago.

The first visa denial came July 25, when attendee Kourosh Elahidoost was turned away at Los Angeles International Airport "for reasons of national security" he wrote in an e-mail to SUTA after returning to Tehran.

As many as a dozen were detained at San Francisco International on Thursday.

Hamed Khalkhali, an aerospace engineer from Irvine, sat by himself in the lounge at the Hyatt on Friday afternoon, disappointed that his former professors would not be joining him.

"It's just some educated people coming here for a scientific reunion," he said. "The whole thing is just a misunderstanding."