NIAC Sends Letter to Wells Fargo Bank Calling Out Discrimination Against Iranians
Washington, DC – In recent months, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) has fielded a significant number of complaints regarding Wells Fargo’s treatment of its customers of Iranian heritage. This includes abrupt account closures and demands to sign an “Iran Declaration,” which requires those who sign it to declare they have no intent to return […]
The Iranian Sanctions Enforcement Act Risks Supercharging Tensions with Iran
The innocuously-named “Iranian Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2023” (H.R. 6201/S. 3197) seeks to significantly increase U.S. interdictions of Iranian shipping vessels to enforce unilateral U.S. sanctions, a highly escalatory proposition that risks heightening tensions and inviting Iranian reprisals. The push is particularly unwise in the current context of regional hostilities that have spilled across the […]
World Bank Report Outlines “Lost Decade” for Iran Under Sanctions
The World Bank published an important report this month detailing a “lost decade of economic growth for Iran” that pushed millions of Iranian citizens into poverty and economic precarity.
NIAC Statement on House Passage of Radical Sanctions Bill – The SHIP Act (H.R. 3774)
Washington, DC – Ryan Costello, Policy Director with the National Iranian American Council, issued the following statement on the House of Representatives pending passage of a radical Iran sanctions bill – the SHIP Act (H.R. 3774) – that risks severe impacts on the global economy: “The SHIP Act would mandate one of the most radical […]
NIAC Letter Regarding Etsy’s U.S. Sanctions Compliance Policies and Discriminatory Treatment Towards Iranian Americans
The National Iranian American Council has sent a letter to Etsy concerning its apparently discriminatory treatment of an American vendor selling “Persian dolls” on its website. These dolls appear to have been made in America with American materials by an American, and under no circumstances should have been flagged as a prohibited item. No sanctions apply to American-made items celebrating Persian cultural heritage or antiquity. Etsy’s knee-jerk or automated reaction that led to the prohibition of the dolls is deeply concerning and smacks of discrimination.
NIAC Statement on the Passage of Resolution on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran
“We are pleased that the resolution passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee condemning the Iranian government’s human rights violations includes a key recommendation calling for the expansion of General License D-1 so that U.S. sanctions do not inhibit the Iranian people’s access to the internet. This is long overdue and we hope that given support from Congress and civil society, including our own outreach, the Treasury Department will move swiftly to implement the recommendation. To truly stand with the Iranian people, we must credibly spotlight and condemn abuses by the Iranian government while also challenging ‘maximum pressure’ policies that have only hurt ordinary Iranians and undermined their ability to seek their rights.”
NIAC Commends Reps. Grijalva, Omar and Lee for Calling on Trump Administration to Protect Humanitarian Trade with Iran
NIAC President Jamal Abdi released the following statement regarding the letter from Reps. Raul Grijalva, Ilhan Omar, and Barbara Lee calling for the Trump administration to protect humanitarian trade with Iran: “After the Trump administration took two key steps in recent months to restrict humanitarian trade with Iran, this letter comes at a critical time. Even as the Iranian people contend with brutal repression from their own government, they are being simultaneously squeezed by crushing U.S. sanctions that have led to shortages of life-saving medicine.”
NIAC Petitions U.S. Treasury for General License Update to Support Iranians’ Access to Internet
Washington DC – As the Iranian government implements a near total shutdown of the internet in the midst of a crackdown against widespread protests, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) called on the U.S. Treasury Department to take necessary steps to ensure U.S. sanctions are not contributing to the Iranian government’s ability to disconnect Iranians. Iranian Americans have been unable to communicate with family members during the shutdown and the isolation of Iran due to certain sanctions has unfortunately contributed to the Iranian government’s ability to separate its population from the rest of the world.
NIAC Statement on Protests across Iran over Gas Price Hike
“NIAC is closely tracking reports of protests in many Iranian cities after the government announced an increase in the price of gasoline. NIAC condemns the Iranian government’s use of force used to disperse protestors, as seen in videos showing the deployment of riot police and tear gas in parts of Iran, as well as efforts to stifle communication by limiting internet access. The Iranian people have an inalienable right to peacefully demonstrate and express their economic and political grievances. The Iranian government denies them this right at its own peril.”
NIAC Statement on Iran’s Fourth Reduction in Nuclear Deal Compliance
“The announcement that Iran will soon feed gas into centrifuges at Fordow is unwelcome news to all those who have sought to resolve the nuclear standoff diplomatically. This is yet another completely predictable result of the failed ‘maximum pressure’ policy adopted by Donald Trump. “International concerns regarding the Fordow facility stem from the fact that its construction was covert and, as it is deeply buried, would be less susceptible to military strikes against Iran. However, so long as the International Atomic Energy Agency continues to have access to the facility in order to verify Iranian activities, which appears to be the case, Iran’s move will be provocative but reversible and not a near-term proliferation risk. Iran continues to provide Trump with a way out of his self-inflicted crisis should he summon the wherewithal to bypass his hawkish advisors as well as his own ego and animus towards his predecessor to return to the nuclear agreement.”
NIAC Statement on Increased U.S. Restrictions on Humanitarian Trade with Iran
NIAC President Jamal Abdi issued the following statement on the Treasury Department’s adding new burdens to humanitarian trade with Iran: “The Trump administration has sounded the death knell for humanitarian trade with Iran. Through its action today, the administration has made clear that the Iranian people are in the cross-hairs of their ongoing economic war against Iran and that the deliberate targeting of food and medicine to the Iranian people is fair game. This is a shameful development—one that makes the United States the equivalent of human rights violators that similarly target humanitarian goods in order to achieve their political objectives.”
NIAC Statement on Trump’s Address at the UN General Assembly
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, September 24, 2019 CONTACT: Mana Mostatabi | 202.386.6325 x103 | [email protected] Washington DC – Today, President Donald Trump delivered his third address to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) since taking the presidency. As tensions between the U.S. and Iran hit an all time high, Trump aggressively targeted Iran in his speech, […]