Statement
Washington, DC, May 22, 2018 – Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC-US) supports U.S. government decision to begin imposition of additional sanctions on the clerical regime in Iran. An effective sanctions regime must include regime’s repressive apparatuses such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the foundations directly controlled by the Office of the Supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. These foundations control Iran’s economy, reap the benefit from any Western concessions, and invest only in regime’s malign activities.
In outlining the 12-pronged U.S. strategy, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo correctly described the length of this list as, “simply a scope of the malign behavior” created by regime itself. Key components of this approach, which include ending Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program and ending its destructive meddling in the region, have always been the demands of our community. Indeed, at our May 5, 2018 Iran Freedom Convention, 1000 Iranian American delegates from 40 states reiterated these demands and the need to support the most potent available lever against the clerical regime, that is the people of Iran.
We therefore welcome this long overdue approach towards the religious tyrants in Iran. OIAC specially notes that this policy duly recognizes the Iranian people’s uprising and their legitimate demands. We also call on the United States to work with its partners and allies to unequivocally demand that Iran immediately end its suppression of the Iranian people.
