For Our Community 

G7 Summit Offers Prospects to Advance Diplomacy with Iran 

NIAC is encouraged by the news coming of the G-7 Summit about the possibility of talks between the U.S. and Iran at the upcoming UN General Assembly. Trump's failed Iran policy has dangerously escalated U.S.-Iran tensions—and exacerbated the hardships of the Iranian people. We urge all sides to embrace diplomacy and dialogue. 

As part of our own efforts to advance peace & diplomacy, NIAC partnered with a group of foreign policy practitioners to publish a letter outlining eight bold, pragmatic recommendations that could widen the path to diplomacy. 

📝 Check-out the letter and full list of signatories here >>

NIAC Tackles the Impact of Sanctions on Iranians & Iranian Americans

NIAC continues to be deeply concerned by the escalating impact of U.S. sanctions against the Iranian people and Iranian Americans. We are actively working to address: 

📌 1. The concerning humanitarian impact that is denying ordinary Iranians access to both critical and every day medications;

📌 2. The harmful impacts on Iran's human rights situation and democratization efforts—owed in part to the shuttering of online communications resources like Amazon's web hosting services; and

📌 3. The impact of stripping away the civil liberties of Iranian Americans whose bank accounts are being wrongly closed due to sanctions.

We are petitioning the Treasury Department to broaden sanctions exemptions, working with companies to clarify U.S. sanctions policy, creating innovative proposals to facilitate humanitarian trade, and mobilizing our community to take a stand against the sanctions that collectively punish us all.

Stay tuned for further updates, and as always, thank you for your support.

 Our Updates 

NIAC Action Endorsement Alert! 

NIAC Action is proud to endorse Zahra Karinshak for Congress in Georgia’s 7th District. Zahra is a State Senator in Georgia’s 48th Senate District, U.S. Air Force veteran, and a lawyer!

She has served this country and understands the cost of war and the importance of diplomacy. And within hours of announcing her bid for Congress, she is already making waves! NIAC Action endorsed Zahra in her race for Georgia’s 48th Senate District seat, which she won with over 53% of the vote. With your support, we can help her get to Congress in 2020!

🗳️ Learn more about Zahra here!

♀️  Read our post celebrating #TeamZahra on Women's Equality Day!

#IAAuthor Series: Celebrating Iranian-American Writers

August 9th marked National Book Lover’s Day, and all across the United States, bibliophiles celebrate the reading and literature that has defined our lives.

To celebrate our community’s own amazing authors, NIAC dedicated the month of August to highlighting the incredible work of just some of the Iranian-American authors who have colored much of our own experiences.

📖 Learn more about the series here and read some our author interviews below. And make sure to check back later this week for our final profile!

📘 Azareen Van der Vilet Oloomi's, author of Call Me Zebra 

📕 Dina Nayeri, author of A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea

📗 Azadeh Moaveni, author of Lipstick Jihad

Spotlighting Human Rights in Iran 

NIAC staff have been diligently monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation in Iran. Check out our full Human Rights Tracker here and read our latest updates below:  

➡️ Summary: UN Special Rapporteur's Report on Human Rights in Iran

➡️ Saeed Malekpour Reunited with Sister in Canada

➡️ Dual British-Iranian Academic Arrested

➡️ Members of the Baha’i Faith Arrested

➡️ Iranian Environmentalists Begin Hunger Strike in Jail

From the Press Room  📰

NIAC Statement on the Trump Administration's "Public Charge" Regulation

🔖 NIAC intern Max Fredell explores the regulation's impact in The Iranian. Read the piece here >>

 From Our Staff 

 Events 

💎 Join Us at NIAC's Bejeweled Galas!  💎

Our annual galas are coming up fast! Join us at our Diamond Gala in Los Angeles on September 21 and our Ruby Gala in New York on September 26 for an evening of food, drink, amazing keynote speakers, and entertainment.

⬇️Click the evites below to purchase your tickets—and stay tuned for more about our upcoming galas in San Francisco and Washington DC!

Sapphire Gala: Los Angeles - September 21

Ruby Gala: New York - September 26