In a significant move, Donald Trump has halted visa processing for 75 nations, including Russia and Iran, as tensions escalate with the potential for military action against Iran’s leadership.

An internal memo from the State Department, issued on Wednesday, instructed consular offices to suspend visa issuance as part of a comprehensive review of screening and vetting measures.

The countries affected by this suspension include Afghanistan, Brazil, Iraq, and Somalia. Notably, Somalia is under scrutiny due to allegations of widespread fraud connected to the Somali community in Minnesota.

While it’s uncertain if the freeze is directly linked to military plans concerning Iran, the timing aligns with Trump’s recent threats of military strikes following Iran’s harsh crackdown on protesters, which resulted in over 2,500 deaths.

The State Department plans to enforce this indefinite visa processing freeze beginning January 21.

The memo also directs consular officers to deny visas to applicants who will need to rely on public benefits upon entry to the US. 

Officers are also instructed to weigh a variety of factors for applicants, including health, age, and English proficiency. 

‘The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people,’ spokesman Tommy Piggott said.

The Iranian regime have brutally cracked down on protesters 

Trump has threaten military action against Iran for killing protesters 

‘Immigration from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.’

The department will also provide exceptions for some visa applications under the new pause but it will be ‘very limited.’

Trump’s immigration crackdown is facing a backlash after an ICE agent shot dead American citizen Renee Good in Minneapolis last week.

Good, 37, drove her car at the agent as officers attempted to arrest her for blocking a road during a protest against Trump’s migrant raids.

Trump last night spoke out on the shooting, suggesting that his predecessor Joe Biden was to blame for allowing so many illegals to enter the US.

‘The bottom line is we have hundreds of thousands of murderers in our country, killers,’ the president told CBS. 

‘They were let in through an open border policy of Sleepy Joe Biden. ICE is working very hard to get them out, their job is being made very, very difficult.’

In the same interview he promised to take ‘strong action’ against Iran if Ayatollah Ali Khamenei goes forward with hangings on Wednesday. 

Protesters set fire to makeshift barricades near a religious center on January 10

Trump is said to have been briefed in recent days about his options, including strikes on nonmilitary sites in Tehran.

Desperate families of relatives who have been persecuted by the Iranian regime amid the uprising have called on Trump to intervene.

Already, a bloody security force crackdown on the protests has killed at least 2,571, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported.

Trump told CBS News: ‘If they [Iran] hang them, you’re going to see something’.

But Iran ignored Trump’s threats and vowed to fast-track executions after detaining 18,000 protesters as the regime continues its brutal crackdown. 

The head of Iran’s judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, signaled Wednesday that there would be fast trials and executions ahead for those detained, saying: ‘If a person burned someone, beheaded someone and set them on fire then we must do our work quickly.’

The US ordered the evacuation of air bases in the region, including an unspecified number from a site in Qatar by Wednesday evening.

Al Udeid, the largest American base in the Middle East, houses 10,000 troops and was targeted by Iran in June in retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear facilities.