Washington, DC – Amid the mounting humanitarian toll of the Trump Administration’s decision to suspend key Iran sanctions exemptions supporting academic, humanitarian and cultural exchanges, the National Iranian American Council reiterated its call for their immediate restoration.
The latest impact of this reckless move has been Iranian students in the United States and Canada receiving notice from Law School Admission Council (LSAC) that they are barred from taking the LSAT exam, the key admissions test for law school applicants. Reports indicate that Iranian-American dual nationals have been affected, along with individuals of Iranian heritage in Canada. LSAC is likely overcomplying with the new regulations, as NIAC wrote in a letter to the organization today, urging that they reverse course.
“This is yet another example of the gratuitous and punitive nature of the new sanctions policy that punishes people who were previously shielded from Iran sanctions in recognition of humanitarian norms,” said NIAC President Jamal Abdi. “Even as sanctions have become broader and hurt more people, for years official U.S. policy has been to avoid targeting academic, cultural and sports exchanges that were widely viewed as advancing U.S. interests and an important symbol of goodwill towards the Iranian people.”
The suspension of General License G may bar the provision of services for persons who are inside Iran or ordinarily resident inside Iran, but it appears LASAC has made the sweeping decision to deny any Iranian citizen access to their services, regardless of whether or not they are based in Iran.
NIAC has called on LASC to revise its decision and ensure that it is not enforcing sanctions beyond what is required under the law and excluding individuals from taking the LSAT simply because of their Iranian origin or heritage.
The revocation of sanctions exemptions have impacted not just hopeful students but also civil aviation, for which the Treasury announced it would no longer honor a U.S. commitment to not directly jeopardize the safety of civilian aircraft safety or impair the ability for Americans to travel freely. NIAC has urged the Trump Administration to address the many challenges created by its new policy by reinstating key sanctions exemptions:
- Following the Treasury suspension of Iran General G on August 24, the Educational Testing Service announced it would no longer allow persons inside Iran or ordinarily resident in Iran to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) test, which is necessary to study in the US as well as many major universities across the world.
- Duolingo English tests were similarly suspended.
- Pearson suspended tests but went even further in canceling tests and informing test takers of Iranian origin or heritage – regardless of whether they were in Iran or ordinarily resident of Iran – that they would be proscribed from taking exams.
- LSAC suspended tests for Iranian-American and Iranian-Canadian dual nationals and persons of Iranian origin or heritage.
- Flights to and from Iran are being halted after the U.S. decision to revoke key authorizations allowing U.S. origin aircraft to travel to Iran, and sanction the entirety of Iran’s civil aviation sector, with Turkish Airlines informing customers that their flights would be canceled.
“Unfortunately, if the Administration does not act to plug these holes and reinstate humanitarian sanctions exemptions, the impact on ordinary people is going to continue to get worse,” said Abdi. “We urge these companies to commit due diligence and not overenforce the sanctions to the detriment of the people they are supposed to serve, and encourage that they pursue specific licenses if necessary to resume providing their services to people regardless of where they were born or live.”