American-Iranian Council Inc

The common international image of Iran is that of a backward country supporting terrorism, seeking weapons of mass destruction and violating human rights. This image in turn has fueled anti-Americanism, which has provided one of the pretexts for the political and diplomatic conundrums of the Islamic Republic. However Iran is a historic nation, with rich culture and heritage while United States has been instrumental in building the modern world. This project aims to showcase the true face of the Iranian nation to the international community, including the United States.

The United States and Iran have been at odds for over 30 years. Currently, the state of their relations is best characterized as “neither-war, nor-peace.” A most troubling issue in the relations has been to find a feasible approach to engagement. Indeed, procedural matters, rather than substantive issues, have been at the core of the obstacles to U.S.-Iran engagement. This proposal will develop a realistic, though ambitious, alternative roadmap for constructive US-Iran engagement. Within this framework, policy makers can build the many nuts and bolts needed to move negotiations on specific problems. The approach will be acceptable to all stakeholders in the relationship as its interactive and regional approach excludes none and awards all a meaningful share of the "peace dividend.

The US has imposed comprehensive sanctions on Iran, making economic transactions and many other forms of interactions with Iranian entities illegal for the American entities. As a result, Iranian-Americans who have families in Iran can potentially violate American laws. While other “hyphenated” American citizens freely interact and transact with their countries of origin, Iranian-Americans are not afforded the same level of rights and protections. Indeed, many Iranian-Americans are already in jail or under house arrest because of difficulties with sanctions. The project “Shielding Iranian-Americans from Sanctions” (SIAS) does not oppose or take specific position on US sanctions against Iran. It is designed to protect Iranian-Americans against these sanctions and their consequent discriminations.

The United States and Iran suffer from mutual misunderstanding and mistrust. This problem largely emanates from lack of objective information and analysis as well as a barrage of misinformation fed into the relationship. Meanwhile false starts and counter-productive policies, build on obliviousness has further fueled the spiral conflict between the two nations. Under these circumstances and to reverse hostilities, there is a desperate need for dissemination of clear and accurate information and analysis. The purpose of this project is to enhance understanding and dialogue toward creating an informed community and a proactive constituency.