A former Norwegian leader said he was held at a Washington airport for one hour because of an Iranian visa in his passport, an incident he described as "provocative".

"There is no reason to be afraid of a former head of government who has been on official visits several times to this country, including in the White House," Kjell Magne Bondevik, 69, said on Thursday.

Bondevik, who served as prime minister twice between 1997 and 2005, said immigration authorities held him on Tuesday for an hour and questioned him over an Iranian visa in his diplomatic passport.

Iran is one of seven countries whose nationals are temporarily banned from entering the US in accordance with a decree signed by US President Donald Trump.

Teheran, meanwhile, issued visas for a US wrestling team to attend the Freestyle World Cup competition this month in the Iranian city of Kermanshah, media reported on Sunday, reversing a decision announced on Friday to ban visas for the team in retaliation for the executive order by Trump.