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According to a draft of the agreement, which The New Yorker has obtained, asylum seekers from any country who either show up at U.S. ports of entry or are apprehended while crossing between ports of entry could be sent to seek asylum in Guatemala instead ... Under this new arrangement, most of these migrants will no longer have a chance to make an asylum claim in the U.S. at all. "We're talking about something much bigger than what the term 'safe third country' implies," someone with knowledge of the deal told me. "We're talking about a kind of transfer agreement where the U.S. can send any asylum seekers, not just Central Americans, to Guatemala."Pro-migration advocates are appalled because they are concerned the agreement might effectively bar the catch and release of the many economic migrants who ask for asylum at the U.S. border.
Oman's Commerce and Industry Minister Masoud Sunaidi and his Iranian counterpart, Reza Rahmani, met for trade talks in Muscat on Wednesday, local media reported.
The Oman newspaper said the two ministers discussed ways of boosting trade and cooperating on the exploration of mineral resources.
Rahmani arrived in the Omani capital for a series of high-profile meetings. Iran's ISNA state news agency said the visit aimed to prepare for this October's joint economic commission.
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that sanctions on Iran would be increased "substantially" soon. His administration has been building an alliance in the Persian Gulf with the stated goal of securing shipping lanes.
Oman has remained neutral as tensions between the two world powers escalated last year. It has stepped in to mediate between Iran and its Arab neighbours as well as the United States.
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