The Vicious Cycle of U.S.-Iran Tensions Continues in the Persian Gulf
This week, 2,000 U.S. Marines and three warships are joining recently deployed fighter jets and a naval destroyer aimed at countering Iran in the Persian Gulf. Why? Because the unilateral enforcement by the U.S. of sanctions beyond our borders has set off a dangerous tit for tat with Iran that amounts to a competition in […]
NIAC Policy Recommendations in Response to Nationwide Protests
The National Iranian American Council sent the following letter to the Biden Administration detailing several important steps to show solidarity with the people of Iran as they challenge their nation’s mandatory hijab laws and the state’s brutal repression.
Expert Panel on Ending Discriminatory Bank Account Closures
“In some cases, it is [based on] nothing, it’s basically their name, they’ve done everything correctly. They weren’t sent anything and their account was closed,” says Mehrnoush Yazdanyar, Esq. Yazdanyar was speaking on the National Iranian American Council’s expert panel exploring why banks have targeted so many individuals of Iranian heritage and other minority communities […]
Discrimination at Biden’s Department of Energy
Last year, the National Iranian American Council was contacted by a U.S. green card holder who had been working as a contractor on a grant provided by the Department of Energy. After some time working on the contract, the Trump administration had increased restrictions against foreign nationals working on federal grants – particularly, nationals of […]
Memo: Ending Discriminatory Bank Account Closures
For years, Iranian Americans, Iranian nationals and other minority groups have been discriminated against by U.S. financial institutions. Several regulations, including sweeping U.S sanctions against Iran, have led to no-notice bank account freezes and even closures, causing immense disruption to lives solely on the basis of their national heritage. These incidents have been well documented, […]
Panel Recap: A “Maximum Pressure” Exit Strategy
“The Trump administration broke the international consensus around Iran that took years to build,” said Suzanne DiMaggio, senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “I think this will go down as an epic strategic blunder during the Trump Era.” DiMaggio was speaking on NIAC’s recent panel examining current and future U.S. policy toward Iran, entitled “A Maximum Pressure Exit Strategy: Can the U.S. Save the Iran Nuclear Deal Before it’s Too Late?” Joining DiMaggio as panelists were Jamal Abdi, President of NIAC, and Joe Cirincione, President of the Ploughshares Fund. Sanam Shantyaei, Senior Journalist at France 24, led the panel as moderator.