OSLO — During his two stints as prime minister of Norway, a steadfast ally of the United States and a member of NATO, Kjell Magne Bondevik met with Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

A Lutheran minister, Mr. Bondevik travels frequently for his job at the Oslo Center, which promotes peace, democracy and human rights, and he went to Washington this week for meetings associated with the National Prayer Breakfast, at which President Trump spoke.

So Mr. Bondevik was startled on Tuesday when federal agents pulled him aside at Dulles International Airport and questioned him over a visit he paid to Iran. Photographs of his visa, which allowed him to enter Iran from December 2014 to January 2015, were widely circulated online.

“I was asked why I had stamps from Iran and what was the purpose of my visit to the United States,” Mr. Bondevik said in a phone interview late Friday, after returning to Oslo. “I explained to the officer who I was and that I had been to Iran for a conference on extremism.”</s>The former Prime Minister and current President of the Oslo Centre for Peace and Human Rights was travelling to Washington DC to attend a conference when he was held back at the airport due to a stamp in his passport from Iran.

The article continues below the photo.



Kjell Magne Bondevik with Bill Clinton in 1999.

Kjell Magne Bondevik was in Iran in 2014 to attend a conference about violence and extremism, according to VG.

Since 2015, Norwegians and citizens of several other countries who have been in Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan after 2011 are required to apply for a visa when travelling to the United States.

Bondevik told VG that he was travelling with a ESTA visa and diplomatic passport, showing that he was once the Prime Minister of Norway. He travelled to the US with the same passport about a year ago without problems.

This time, he was stopped for an hour and questioned about his trip to Iran.

“I explained why I was in Iran. I think that it is strange and provocative that I was detained for an hour. I do not expect special treatment, but expect that the US treats such matters with prudence and flexibility. I can live with this, but it is unfortunate for the United States’ reputation,” he tells VG.

Iran is one of the seven countries affected by controversial travel ban that was implemented last Friday.</s>Kjell Magne Bondevik, a Lutheran minister, travels frequently for his job at the Oslo Center, which promotes peace, democracy and human rights, and he went to Washington, D.C., last week for meetings associated with the National Prayer Breakfast.

OSLO, Norway — During his two stints as prime minister of Norway, a steadfast U.S. ally and a NATO member, Kjell Magne Bondevik met with Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush.

Bondevik, a Lutheran minister, travels frequently for his job at the Oslo Center, which promotes peace, democracy and human rights, and he went to Washington, D.C., last week for meetings associated with the National Prayer Breakfast, at which President Trump spoke.

So Bondevik was startled Tuesday when federal agents pulled him aside at Washington Dulles International Airport and questioned him over a visit he paid to Iran. Photographs of his visa, which allowed him to enter Iran from December 2014 to January 2015, were widely circulated online.

“I was asked why I had stamps from Iran and what was the purpose of my visit to the United States,” Bondevik said in a phone interview late Friday, after returning to Oslo. “I explained to the officer who I was and that I had been to Iran for a conference on extremism.”

Norwegians do not ordinarily need a visa to enter the United States, and Bondevik carries a diplomatic passport that identifies him as a former prime minister of Norway. So he was surprised that the agents would not let him move on. Among the travelers he waited with were visitors from Iran and Somalia, two of the seven Muslim-majority countries that were on Trump’s travel ban.

Bondevik’s wait at the airport, which was first reported by the Washington, D.C.-area news outlet WJLA, has gotten widespread attention in the wake of Trump’s travel policy.

It was Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, who signed a 2015 law imposing tighter visa restrictions on foreigners who have traveled to Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan within the past five years.

But the policy, which took effect in January 2016, includes exceptions for people who have visited those countries for business, government, humanitarian or journalistic reasons, so it is not clear why Bondevik was stopped.

Bondevik said he could understand the need for safety precautions, but he was dismayed at the length of his wait. He notified the Norwegian ambassador in Washington, D.C., of his concerns.

“The explanation alone should be more than enough to let me pass,” he said. “Surely they can’t seriously believe that a former prime minister of Norway has sinister intentions” or is “planning to perform misdeeds in the U.S.”

A spokesman for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Oslo confirmed that Bondevik holds a diplomatic passport and had been in touch with the ministry about this matter, but he declined to comment further on the incident.

Bondevik, in the interview, said he had traveled to the United States in January 2016, with the Iranian visa in his passport, without incident.

“I do not wish to dramatize this event, or cause unnecessary harm to relations between Norway and the U.S., but I did react to the manner in which this was conducted,” he said.

In an interview with Norwegian television, he urged the U.S. government not to damage the image of the United States, and he described Trump’s travel ban as overly broad and frightening.

Norway, the home of the Nobel Peace Prize, has a long history of protecting refugees, and Trump’s 120-day ban on refugee admissions — and an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees — has been widely criticized there.

Bondevik was prime minister from 1997 to 2000 and again from 2001 to 2005. Along with the conference associated with the National Prayer Breakfast, he was in Washington, D.C., for other meetings. As a result of the questioning, he said, he ran late.</s>The former prime minister of Norway was detained at Washington Dulles Airport on Tuesday after customs officials noticed his passport was stamped in Iran in 2014.

Kjell Magne Bondevik, 69, had flown in for the National Prayer Breakfast on Tuesday only to be held in a room for questioning when he arrived.

Bondevik served as prime minister in 1997-2000 and again in 2001-2005 and showed his diplomatic passport which proved he was the former leader of a US ally, but was detained.

'It should be enough when they found that I have a diplomatic passport, [that I'm a] former prime minister,' Bondevik told ABC 7.

'That should be enough for them to understand that I don't represent any problem or threat to this country and [to] let me go immediately, but they didn't.'

Bondevik was placed in a room with travelers from the Middle East and Africa for 40 minutes before he was questioned for about 20 minutes he said.

The former Norwegian leader, who is president of a human rights organization called The Oslo Center, explained to officials he had visited Iran three years ago for a humans rights conference.

While he said he understood 'the fear of letting terrorists' in, he told Norwegian local news outlet TV2: 'There should be no reason to fear a former prime minister who has been on official visits to the country several times before.

'It appears that when the name of a certain country shows up, all of the antennas go up. This will create totally unnecessary suspicion. I think it was quite provocative,' he said.

Bondevik contacted the Norwegian Embassy in Washington during the incident and a spokesperson said the embassy was 'happy that things were sorted out.'

However, the ex-prime minister said it wasn't the president's recent travel ban which blocks people from seven countries including Iran, but a law implemented by Obama in 2015.

The Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 calls for extra restrictions on some citizens from 38 countries, including Norway.

Citizens from these countries do not typically need a visa to fly into the US unless they have traveled to Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011.

However, Bondevik was still shocked to have been detained since it was not his first time flying to the States.

'What will the reputation of the US be if this happens not only to me, but also to other international leaders?' he said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection were not able to comment on the incident.</s>A former Norwegian prime minister was stopped and questioned for around an hour at an American airport because his diplomatic passport showed that he visited Iran.

Kjell Magne Bondevik – who lead Norway's government for two terms between 1997 and 2005 – said he flew into Washington DC’s Dulles Airport from Europe to attend the National Prayer Breakfast.

The high profile series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners attended by hundreds of guests from dozens of countries around the world, along with US President Donald Trump.

But after Mr Bondevik touched down he was questioned by a customs agent who noticed an Iranian visit in his passport.

Despite the document indicating that he is the former prime minister of Norway, he was placed in a room with travellers from the Middle East and Africa who were also facing extra scrutiny.

He said he had to sit and wait for about 40 minutes and then he was questioned for about 20 minutes.

“They started asking me why I had been in Iran and why I was coming to the United States,” Mr Bondevik told Norwegian broadcaster TV2. “There should be no reason to fear a former prime minister who has been on official visits to the country several times before.”

His current role as president of a human rights organisation called The Oslo Centre, had led him to speak at a 2014 conference in Iran.

US President Donald Trump recently approved an executive order stopping travellers from seven predominantly Muslim countries – including Iran – entering the US.

The rapid roll-out of the measure at the end of January caused travel chaos and protests, with pre-approved refugees, students and workers with visas and residency green cards stopped from entering the country.

Mr Bondevik said the Iranian border stamp had never been an issue to US border control before the travel ban.

He told the broadcaster that, while he understood the terrorist threat to the US, "one should not treat entire ethnic groups in such a way".

He added: "I must admit that I fear the future. There has been a lot of progress over the last ten years, but this gives great cause for concern, in line with the authoritarian leaders we see controlling other major countries."

In a separate interview with US broadcaster ABC7, he said that officials at the airport told him that the questioning was not to do with the recent "Muslim ban", and was instead related to a 2015 law signed by President Barack Obama following the Paris terrorist attacks.

The law subjects travellers from 38 countries, including Norway, to greater scrutiny if they have visited seven Muslim majority countries — the same nations targeted by Mr Trump's recent executive order.

A spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection said they were not allowed legally to provide any more details about a person's accessibility review.</s>Former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik was held and questioned at a US airport because of a stamp in his diplomatic passport stemming from a 2014 visit to Iran.Bondevik, who twice served as a Prime Minister of Norway and is still eligible to a diplomatic travel document, was held earlier this week at a Dulles air hub outside Washington DC.He was travelling to the US to attend the National Prayer Breakfast, a string of high-profile gatherings attended by international guests and religious leaders following the inauguration of the new US President.However,"They began to ask me why I had been in Iran and what I was going to do in the US," he told the Norwegian TV2. Bondevik, who currently serves as President of the The Oslo Centre human rights organization, was in Iran in 2014 to deliver a speech."It seems as though when the name of one of the banned countries comes up, they [US] now put up the barbed wire," the former PM said. "I became quite provoked," Bondevik noted, recalling that he was in the US on a number of official visits and that the incident represented "unnecessary suspicion."In January, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a blanket ban on all Syrian asylum seekers until major changes were made to the asylum program. Citing national security concerns, the order also prohibited citizens from six Arab nations, including Iran, from entering the United States for three months, sparking an uproar both inside and outside the US.In an interview with ABC7, the former PM said he understands the fears in Washington over potential terrorist threats.However, "it should be enough when they found that I have a diplomatic passport, [that I am a] former prime minister," Bondevik told the news outlet.He added that the respective document and his former status should have been reason enough "to understand that I don't represent any problem or threat to this country and [to] let me go immediately, but they didn't."The former Norwegian PM, who has been a vocal advocate of peace efforts and reconciliation attempts across the world, now says the latest step by the new US leader raises concerns. "You shouldn't treat entire groups of people in this manner," he told TV2."I have to admit I fear the future (with Trump as president). There's been a lot of progress in the world the last few decades, but this gives great cause for concern, along with the authoritarian leaders we see steering other large countries."</s>A former Prime Minister of Norway was detained and questioned for an hour at the Dulles airport on Tuesday because his passport showed that he had visited Iran in 2014.

Kjell Magne Bondevik told ABC7 news that he was not allowed to leave after the customs agent spotted a visa to Iran stamped in his passport. He served as Prime Minister of Norway twice - from 1997 to 2000 and 2001 to 2005.

“I was surprised and I was provoked. Of course I fully understand the fear of letting terrorists come into this country,” said Bondevik, adding that it should have been obvious that he poses no threat as a terrorist to the United States. Even his passport says that he is the former PM of Norway, a US ally.

Bondevik was told that he was not being detained because of President Donald Trump’s recently-imposed travel ban on visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries.
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A 2015 law signed by Obama places restrictions on citizens even from Norway, one of the countries that falls under the US Visa Waiver Program. However, exceptions are made to people who travelled to one of the seven countries on behalf of international organisations.

But he says this is not his first trip to the States since his visit to Iran and yet it was the first time he was subjected to questioning. Bondevik is president of a human rights organization called The Oslo Center and in 2014 he went to Iran to speak at a human rights conference there.

Bondevik also said that he had contacted the US Embassy in Oslo prior to his trip and was told that all he would need to enter the States is his passport and electronic travel authorization (called ESTA).

“What reputation do you want to make of the US abroad,” he told ABC7 news. He was visiting the US for the National Prayer Breakfast, an event attended by Trump.

This report comes a day after the terse phone conversation between Trump and Malcolm Turnbull, the Prime Minister of Australia, another staunch US ally. T he Washington Post reported that Trump “blasted” Turnbull when the latter brought up the issue of honouring the Obama administration’s undertaking to take in 1,250 refugees who are in Australia’s offshore detention centres.</s>Former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik was reportedly detained and questioned at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, the United Stated, over a visit to Iran some three years ago.

Bondevik, who served as the Norwegian Prime Minister from 1997 to 2000 and 2001 to 2005, had arrived in the US on Tuesday to attend the National Prayer Breakfast, a yearly event held in Washington DC on the first Thursday of February.

Reports state that the former PM was held for an hour after the custom agents at the airport saw in his passport that he had visited Iran in 2014. Bondevik said that he was questioned even though his passport had clearly stated that he was a former PM of Norway, according to Guardian reports.

"Of course, I fully understand the fear of letting terrorists come into this country. It should be enough when they found that I have a diplomatic passport, [that I'm a] former prime minister," the PM told ABC7.

Bondevik said that he was placed in a room with travellers from the Middle East and Africa.

The former PM and the president of the Oslo Centre, a human rights organisation, said that the officials at the airport told him that he was being questioned because of a law introduced by the Obama administration in 2011 to block the visa waiver programme where people from at least 30 countries could walk through after showing their passport. However, Bondevik said that he had never detained before because of the Obama ruling.

"I must admit that I fear the future. There has been a lot of progress over the last 10 years, but this gives great cause for concern, in line with the authoritarian leaders we see controlling other major countries," the former Norway PM said.

Last week, US President Donald Trump had signed executive actions on extreme vetting and visa ban which apply to migrants, refugees and US legal residents — Green Card holders — from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen. There is an indefinite ban on the arrival of Syrian refugees. Trump cited "terrorism concerns" as the reason behind passing the order.</s>A stunned former prime minister of Norway complained that he was caught up in the maw of Donald Trump's controversial executive order and detained this week by border agents at Washington's Dulles International Airport because he visited Iran in 2014. Kjell Magne Bondevik said that after he landed at Dulles on Tuesday he was herded into a room with a group of travelers from the Middle East and Africa.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Switched.</s>The execution of Trump's Muslim ban executive order is so ridiculous that a former Prime Minister of Norway was detained at Dulles airport on Tuesday afternoon because his passport showed he had visited Iran in 2014.

Kjell Magne Bondevik, Prime Minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000 and from 2001 to 2005, was pulled aside and detained for further questioning before being allowed through Customs.

WJLA-7 reports that Bondevik even showed them that his passport identifies him as the former prime minister of Norway, but to no avail.

He told the reporter that "it should have been obvious he's not a terrorist."

"It should be enough when they found that I have a diplomatic passport," Bondevik said. "That should be enough for them to understand that I don't represent any problem or threat to this country and let me go immediately, but they didn't."

I'm old enough to remember when diplomatic passports got you a straight pass through Customs, but with this ridiculous order on file, it seems they no longer do.

Bondevik's visit to Iran was connected to his work for the Oslo Center, where he went to speak at a human rights conference.
Former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik says he was detained at Dulles Airport earlier this week because he had visited Iran in 2014. A Lutheran minister, Mr. Bondevik was in Washington for meetings associated with the National Prayer Breakfast.