Iran Action Hub - PAAIA

Iran Action Hub

Woman, Life, Freedom

 

PAAIA is committed to supporting the people of Iran.

PAAIA supports the Iranian people’s ambitions for human rights and democracy, and we are advocating for their rights and freedoms. Iran has been consumed by nationwide protests, sparked by the death in state custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who was arrested by Iran’s morality police for wearing hijab improperly. We at PAAIA continue to work with members of Congress in a bipartisan manner to ensure as much support as possible for the brave protesters fighting for freedom. 

In order to better inform the Iranian American community and general public on what PAAIA is working on, and actions that the Biden Administration, U.S. Congress, and international community are taking in support of the Iranian people, we are launching the Iran Action Hub. 

 

Actions You Can Take

These difficult times have many in our community asking what they can do to help. Here are links to a few actions you can take:

  • Tell Congress to Pass the MAHSA Act
    • The legislation codifies sanctions on Iran’s Supreme Leader, President, and their offices under the authorities of E.O. 13876 (sanctions the Supreme Leader & his inner circle), E.O. 13553 (human rights abuses by the Iranian government), and E.O. 13224 (counterterrorism) 
  • Tell Congress to Pass the Concurrent Iran Resolution
    • The resolution expresses that Congress stands with the people of Iran and urges the Biden Administration to do everything in its power to support them, including measures it can take to help with internet freedom in Iran.

What PAAIA is Doing

As a credible voice of Iranian Americans, PAAIA knows that our community wants us to be engaged. Below are links to actions PAAIA has taken in solidarity with the Iranian people. PAAIA is also actively engaged with Congress on several legislative initiatives which are detailed in the section following this list.

2023

  • September 28th: PAAIA met with Representatives Nunn, Bice, Foxx, Williams, and Speaker McCarthy to discuss the TFVA and Internet Freedom for Iran. 
  • September 28th: PAAIA met with Senators Padilla, Blumenthal, Paul, Van Hollen, and Gillibrand to discuss the MAHSA Act, TFVA, and Internet Freedom.
  • September 19th: PAAIA hosted a congressional briefing in honor of the one year anniversary of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement and the death of Jina Mahsa Amini. 
  • September 12: PAAIA was on the Hill to see the final vote that passed the MAHSA Act in the House of Representatives. 
  • July 13th: Our Civic Leaders Summit participants used the culmination of the skills they learned in their workshops throughout the week to advocate on Capitol Hill. As a result of their meetings, Senator Padilla introduced the MAHSA Act in the Senate and Senator Kaine became a cosponsor. 
  • June 5th: PAAIA hosts virtual briefing to discuss the latest developments in Iran and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.
  • April 24th: PAAIA submitted a statement of support to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee prior to the markup session.
  • March 30th: PAAIA met with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA20) to encourage him bring the MAHSA Act to the floor. The Speaker showed excitement and promised to help get the legislation passed.  PAAIA also met with Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL6) to ask him to urge Rep. McCaul to mark up the MAHSA Act in the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
  • March 29th: PAAIA met with Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC5) and Representative Scott Franklin (R-FL18) to discuss the importance of supporting the Iranian people and encourage them to cosponsor the MAHSA Act. Rep. Foxx then signed on as cosponsor at the next session on April 3rd.
  • March 2nd: PAAIA met with Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) to discuss our poll results and how our community believes we should show support for the Iranian people.
  • March 1st: PAAIA met with Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA17) about showing solidarity with the people of Iran and thanking him for his support of the MAHSA Act and internet freedom.
  • February 15th: PAAIA met with Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) to discuss legislative priorities including the MAHSA Act & Internet freedom in Iran
  • February 7th: PAAIA met with Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT5) to discuss issues of importance to the Iranian American community
  • January 27th: PAAIA urged Congress to Pass MAHSA Act
  • January 25th: PAAIA-supported Concurrent Iran Resolution was passed in the House of Representatives
  • January 18th: PAAIA announced Policy Recommendations for the 118th Congress
  • PAAIA has met with numerous congressional offices expressing support for the MAHSA Act and other policies important to Iranian Americans.

2022

  • November 4th: PAAIA & Coalition of Iranian American Organizations Sign Letter Urging UN to remove Iran from the Commission on Status of Women
  • October 27th: PAAIA hosts Congressional Briefing on Iran, attended by dozens of congressional offices
  • October 18th: PAAIA & PARS Equality Center urge United Nations to investigate Iran’s human rights abuses
  • October 3rd: PAAIA condemns deeply disturbing siege of Sharif University by Iranian security forces
  • September 26th: PAAIA & Center for Human Rights in Iran issue statement praising General License D-2
  • September 22nd: PAAIA issues statement mourning Mahsa Amini’s death
  • PAAIA directly worked with Congress to secure support for multiple congressional initiatives: 
    • Bipartisan Letter to Meta on Content Moderation 
      • A bipartisan letter calling on Meta, Facebook’s parent company, to ensure its content moderation policies are not inadvertently suppressing Iranian voices, in response to reports that Meta is taking down online posts from protesters in Iran.
    • Bipartisan Letter Urging Tech Companies to Open Services to Iranian People
      • A bipartisan congressional letter urging tech companies such as Amazon, Google, Apple to help the Iranian people access the tools they need to circumvent government censorship by following updated sanctions guidelines.
    • House & Senate Bipartisan Concurrent Resolution
        • Over 90 Members of Congress have thus far co-sponsored the resolution after the PAAIA community sent over 2000 emails to their Representatives and Senators. The Resolution expresses that Congress stands with the people of Iran and urges the Biden Administration to do everything in its power to support them, including measures it can take to help with internet freedom in Iran. 
  • September 23rd: The U.S. Departments of State & Treasury announced General License D-2 (GL D-2), an update to sanctions exemptions which makes it easier for the Iranian people to access independent internet technologies and circumvent the Iranian government’s censorship efforts. The announcement of GL D-2 is a huge victory which comes after years of advocacy by PAAIA on this front!  PAAIA helped lead this effort and we are pleased that the Biden Administration has taken this action in support of internet freedom.

How Congress is Responding

The U.S. government holds a lot of power which it can wield in support of Iranians. Below is a list of congressional initiatives as well as actions by the Biden Administration that PAAIA is aware of and sharing for informational purposes.

118th U.S. Congress

117th U.S. Congress

 

How the Biden Administration is Responding

2023

  • April 27th: The U.S. Treasury Implemented Sanctions on senior officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization for their involvement in the detention of U.S. Nationals.
  • March 8th: Treasury Department Sanctions Iranian Officials and Entities for Human Rights Abuses in Honor of International Women’s Day
  • January 23rd: Treasury Department Sanctions 10 Human Rights Abusers in Iran

2022

  • November 17th: U.S. Treasury Department Sanctions Network Supporting Iranian Petrochemical and Petroleum Sales
  • November 16th: National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan Condemns ”Mass Arrests, Sham Trials, and Death Sentence”
  • November 16th: Treasury Sanctions Senior Officials and “Interrogator Journalists” of Iran’s State-Run Media
  • November 2nd: Vice President Harris announces the U.S. government supports the call to remove Iran from the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women
  • October 31st: Senior Biden Administration Official Says United States Government is “Unlikely to Move Forward with Nuclear Deal” 
  • October 26th: Treasury Sanctions Iranian Officials and Entities Responsible for Ongoing Crackdown on Protests and Internet Censorship
  • September 23rd: The U.S. Departments of State & Treasury announced General License D-2 (GL D-2), an update to sanctions regulations which makes it easier for the Iranian people to access internet and circumvent the Iranian government’s censorship
  • September 22nd: Treasury Sanctions Iran’s Morality Police and Senior Security Officials for Violence Against Protesters and the Death of Mahsa Amini

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