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.

2023-2024

July 10: PAAIA’s Civic Leadership Summit participants advocated for the TFVA and Internet Freedom legislation with the offices of Representatives Barbara Lee (D/CA), Adam Schiff (D/CA), Brad Sherman (D/CA), Ted Lieu (D/CA), Anna Eshoo (D/CA), Scott Peters (D/CA), Gerry Connolly (D/VA), Don Beyer (D/VA), Lori Trahan (D/MA), Jamie Raskin (D/MD), and Senator Tim Kaine (D/VA). They also met with Senator Alex Padilla (D/CA), and Representatives Eric Swalwell (D/CA) and Mike Levin (D/CA). Reps. Ted Lieu and Mike Levin signed on as original cosponsors to the IRAN Act after they spoke to our Summit students about it.
April 11-12: PAAIA met with Senators Blumenthal (D-CT), Lankford (R-OK), and Murphy (D-CT), and Representatives Bacon (R-NE2), Fitzpatrick (R-PA1), Franklin (R-FL18), Leader Jeffries (D-NY8), Mills (R-FL7), Nunn (R-IA3), Peters (D-CA50), and Waltz (R-FL6) to discuss the importance of the MAHSA Act, TFVA, and Internet Freedom.
February 12th: PAAIA followed-up our letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with a meeting to encourage support for the MAHSA Act.
January 17th: PAAIA sent a letter to Senator Ben Cardin, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), as well as the other SFRC members, encouraging them to markup the MAHSA Act.
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

Iran Internet Freedom Act: The Iran Internet Freedom Act was introduced in the Senate. This bill is similar to the IRAN Act in the house except that it also authorizes $30million in OTF grants to help support internet access in Iran.
IRAN Act: The Internet Reach and Access Now Act was introduced by Representatives Eric Swalwell (D-CA14) and Claudia Tenney (R-NY24) to help promote internet freedom in Iran.
TOOMAJ Act: Legislation that would place targeted sanctions on the judges, prosecutors, and investigators of all 70 branches of the Islamic Revolutionary Courts in Iran.
Allyship Act: This bill, introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee, would pair new, focused sanctions on the worst abuses in the Iranian regime with new communication tools and expanded Internet access for Iranian Americans to connect with loved ones and Iranian protestors to effectively organize. It also establishes mechanisms to improve the effectiveness, coordination, impact, and outcomes of programs that help Iranian people.
Holding Iranian Leaders Accountable: This bill would require the Treasury Department to brief Congress on the finances of Iranian leadership and require financial institutions to close accounts connected to these individuals.
Bipartisan Letter Demanding the Biden Administration Seize Iranian Oil & Gas Shipments: 12 senators sent a letter to President Biden demanding that he seize Iranian oil & gas shipments under a Trump-era program that would use the funds for the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund. Hours later, Iran seized an oil tanker headed to the U.S.
Encouraging the EU to DESIGNATE Resolution Introduced: H.Res.288 was introduced by Rep. Tenney to encourage the European Union to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Letter Urging the EU to Designate the IRGC as a Terrorist Organization: 139 members of Congress signed a bipartisan letter urging the European Union to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. The U.S. already made this designation in 2019.
Letter Urging the Biden Administration to Impose Further Sanctions: A bipartisan, bicameral letter was sent to Secretaries Blinken and Yellen, calling on the Biden Administration to impose more sanctions on Iranian officials and institutions for supporting acts of violence against peaceful protestors.
MAHSA Act: Bipartisan legislation which codifies sanctions on Iran’s Supreme Leader, President, and their offices was reintroduced in the House of Representatives. PAAIA has been working hard to help garner support for the bill which currently has over 136 cosponsors.
- Status: Passed in the House Foreign Affairs Committee
- Status: Companion bill introduced in the Senate
- Status: Passed in the House of Representatives
- Status: Sent to Senate Foreign Relations Committee for Markup
- Status: Passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with Amendments
- Status: Passed as part of a House foreign aid package
- Status: Passed the Senate as part of the foreign aid package
- Status: Signed into law by President Biden
- Status: Not yet implemented. Members of Congress sent a letter to the administration urging action on the sanctions required by the MAHSA Act.
Revoking Entry Granted to Iranian Mullahs and Elites Act: Legislation introduced which would direct the Secretary of State to conduct a report on if certain members of the Iranian regime or their immediate relatives, such as the IRGC, have obtained or applied for U.S. visas. Read PAAIA’s analysis of the REGIME Act.
Concurrent Iran Resolution: 52 Senators have thus far sponsored the reintroduced version of the resolution after the PAAIA community sent over 3000 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.
- Status: Passed in the House of Representatives

117th U.S. Congress

Revoking Entry Granted to Iranian Mullahs and Elites Act: Legislation introduced which would direct the Secretary of State to conduct a report on if certain members of the Iranian regime or their immediate relatives, such as the IRGC, have obtained or applied for U.S. visas. Read PAAIA’s analysis of the REGIME Act.
House & Senate Bipartisan Concurrent Resolution: Over 90 Members of Congress 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.
Support for Iranian Political Prisoners Act: Legislation introduced to demand Iran end its human rights abuses and release all “arbitrarily detained individuals.”
Bipartisan Congressional Resolution (Senate): Condemns Iran’s systemic persecution of women and peaceful protesters
Bipartisan Congressional Resolution (House): Condemns Iranian regime’s behavior and supports peaceful protesters
Mahsa Amini Human rights and Security Accountability Act (MAHSA Act): Legislation which requires the executive branch to determine sanctions under existing authorities of Executive Order (E.O.) 13876 (which sanctions the Supreme Leader & his inner circle), E.O. 13553 (human rights abuses by the Iranian government), and E.O. 13224 (counterterrorism). PAAIA is working with Congress to make the MAHSA Act more broadly bipartisan.
Internet Freedom and Operations Act: Strengthens the U.S. government’s ability to combat authoritarian and repressive governments that are using Internet access as a means of suppressing information sharing and communications among everyday people, civil society organizations, and journalists
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.
Letter to the United Nations Regarding the Commission on the Status of Women

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