Dear John,

Countless members of our community have heard from loved ones in Iran who are afflicted with illnesses and can’t get the critical medicines that they need as a result of U.S. sanctions.

Thankfully, today, 17 Members of Congress—led by Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03), Barbara Lee (CA-13), and Ilhan Omar (MN-05)—called on the Trump administration to ensure that U.S. sanctions are not blocking humanitarian trade and access to medicine in Iran. 

NIAC Action staff consulted closely with the offices on the letter and outreach for the bill and hosted a Congressional briefing with Human Rights Watch on their report on the impact of sanctions on humanitarian trade. According to the report, “the Trump administration’s broad sanctions on Iran have drastically constrained the ability of the country to finance humanitarian imports, including medicines, causing serious hardships for ordinary Iranians and threatening their right to health.” 

The systematic targeting of humanitarian trade is unacceptable and verges on inhumane. The Iranian people are caught between their own government’s brutal repression and ever-escalating sanctions that punish them directly. The U.S. should not add to the plight of the Iranian people and must take new steps to ease humanitarian trade with Iran. 

You can help sustain attention on this critical issue by taking action today and urging your Members of Congress to ensure that humanitarian exemptions to Iran sanctions work in practice.

The effort to keep the channels for humanitarian trade with Iran has just begun. NIAC Action will continue to fight against unjust sanctions while condemning the Iranian government for its continued gross human rights violations.

Thank you for your support. 

Best,

Jamal Abdi
Executive Director, NIAC Action