The House Gets Bad Advice
When it comes to crafting law, Congress seeks input from outside experts to help inform and guide their decisionmaking. The type of experts the body seeks out can say a lot about why Congress does what it does. Last Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee invited some particularly revealing “expert witnesses” that say a lot […]
Blocking Iran talks is rerun of Iraq failure
This past weekend, with news that the U.S. and Iran may be planning direct talks soon to address the nuclear standoff, there were swift reactions by some to try to kill the initiative. Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren warned that Iran should not be “rewarded” with direct talks, and Senator Lindsey Graham–who has pledged the U.S. […]
Congressional push for sanctions on food and medicine
It’s that time of year again–when Republicans and Democrats in Congress takes a break from wringing each other’s necks to pass a piece of legislation to “tighten the noose” around Iran just in time for campaign season. For those just checking in, here’s an example of what our current sanctions are already doing on the […]
Will you sign our thank you card to the White House?
Last week, the White House hosted the first ever Iranian-American roundtable. This was a historic moment for our community to be recognized as a distinct and important constituency. But some would prefer Iranian Americans to be locked out of the White House and punished for the actions of the Iranian government. Just days after the meeting, prominent neoconservative outlets Commentary and Washington Free […]
CA State Senate Stands Up for Iranian Human Rights
Recently, the California State Senate passed SR 29, a Senate Resolution authored by State Senator Sam Blakeslee which recognizes the contributions of the Iranian-American community and calls upon the Iranian government to provide basic human rights and political freedoms to its citizens. The Senator partnered with several Iranian-American organizations, including NIAC and the International Campaign […]
Congressional zero-enrichment demand will “lead to either an Iranian nuclear weapon or a new war”
In an important piece in the LA Times, Daniel Kadishson explains how Congressional demands for “zero enrichment” as the only acceptable diplomatic resolution to the Iranian nuclear impasse is obstructing legitimate chances to ensure Iran does not build a nuclear weapon and to prevent war. “To prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon,” he writes, […]
House now has three resolutions endorsing Israeli-led preventive war on Iran
The pro-Iran war posturing continues in the House, with yet another Member of Congress throwing their hat in the ring to signal support for Israeli-led preventive war on Iran. Arizona Republican Paul Gosar has dropped what is now the third resolution in the 112th Congress providing Congressional cover for Israeli strikes—which the Pentagon has warned […]
House takes aim at Iran humanitarian waiver
The House of Representatives yesterday voted to strip the President’s ability to allow repairs or parts for Iran’s civilian aircraft. Currently, U.S. sanctions prevent Iran from buying new civilian aircraft or purchasing spare parts for their aging fleet. They also prevent repairs and even block U.S. companies from conducting crash investigations to prevent future accidents. […]
Iran News Roundup 12/8
Presidential candidates continue war rhetoric Republican presidential candidates continued their war rhetoric towards Iran on Wednesday (Reuters 12/7). Front running candidate Mitt Romney said that “covert and overt” actions are needed to pressure Iran. Candidate Jon Huntsman added that “you have to have all options on the table.” Presidential hopeful Michelle Bachman said “the Pentagon […]
Iran News Roundup 11/28
Sanctions push in Europe, US Financial Times writes that France is leading a push to implement a European Union oil embargo against Iran. They report that while the UK is behind such a move, it is expected to meet resistance from Spain and Italy who are the two biggest importers of Iranian oil in Europe […]
New Iran sanctions coming today
Today the US and UK will announce a new round of sanctions against Iran. With so many existing sanctions in place, it is helpful to unpack exactly what additional measures are now being enacted. The UK will implement the “nuclear option” of sanctioning Iran’s central bank, Bank Markazi, severing all ties with Iranian banks: From […]
Iran News Roundup 11/18
Central Bank sanctions being pushed by Congress Minority Senate leader Mitch McConnell introduced legislation on behalf of Sen. Mark Kirk that would sanction the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) in an attempt to “collapse” the Iranian economy (The Hill 11/17). In the House, a letter with bipartisan support, signed by House leadership and Foreign Affairs […]