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March 20, 2020

NIAC Action Joins 25+ Organizations to Call for Easing of Iran Sanctions

In light of the increasingly dire situation in Iran as the country combats the COVID-19 pandemic, 25 other organizations – including NIAC Action, J Street, Truman National Security Project, MoveOn, Win Without War, and Ploughshares Fund – sent a letter calling on President Trump, Sec. Mnuchin, and Sec. Pompeo to loosen the administration’s crippling sanctions regime on Iran for 120 days in order to aid the Iranian people’s fight against the virus. The combined groups, representing millions of Americans, signals a strong desire for the administration to reevaluate their Iran policy in the wake of the pandemic.

NIAC Action Executive Director Jamal Abdi released the following statement accompanying the letter:

“The Trump administration’s current unwillingness to significantly ease sanctions on Iran during this time of crisis is like rubbing salt into a gaping wound. With hospitals overrun and Iranian doctors struggling to procure necessary equipment, the U.S. must be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. 

“As COVID-19 rips through country after country, Iran’s experience has been particularly devastating. While advanced medical systems across Western Europe seem to be collapsing under the weight of patients infected with the virus, Iranians have had to contend with both their own government’s negligence and crushing sanctions that slow the response and punish ordinary Iranians. 

“Humanitarian assistance shouldn’t come with strings attached, and we are all at risk from the pandemic regardless of nationality. We call on the administration to ease its sanctions policy so that all resources are available to fight the pandemic in this dark hour for the Iranian people.”

The full text of the letter can be found here.

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