gulfnews.com — Beirut: Passports of Iranian travellers entering Lebanon will not being stamped, the Lebanese General Security has announced. Instead, landing slips will be issued. The decision has raised eyebrows in the country where Iranian-influence seems to be at an all-time high. The Foreign Ministry issued a statement Sunday but stopped short of providing any sort of explanation or reasoning behind the decision. “The General security decided on stamping landing slips instead of passports, and the role of the Foreign Ministry is limited only to reporting such decision,” the statement read.

Lebanon and Iran waived visa requirements for their respective citizens in 2015 in the wake of the now-defunct Nuclear Agreement, making travelling between both countries easier. The decision comes on the heels of another controversy in which a controversial decree granted Lebanese citizenship to around 400 people of more than 20 nationalities. According to Lebanese media, 110 on the list were of Palestinian origin, 100 were Syrian and 19 were stateless. Lebanese politicians and ordinary citizens were outaged by the move which allegedly included Syrian investors close to the Damascus regime. Critics have slammed the secrecy surrounding the move and say it adds insult to injury for thousands unable to acquire nationality because they were born to Lebanese mothers and foreign fathers.