NIAC Urges End to Sanctions Hurting Iranian Students — SkimNews
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- NIAC wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging rescission of recent sanctions and restoration of humanitarian, educational, and cultural exemptions that had been in place for over a decade.
- The Education Testing Service suspended TOEFL and GRE testing in Iran following the sanctions, and the Duolingo English Test became unavailable both in Iran and for students holding Iranian IDs.
- NIAC president Jamal Abdi called on the administration to reinstate 31 CFR § 560.544 (educational activities by US persons in third countries) and Iran General License G (educational exchanges).
- NIAC noted Iran was historically among the nations with the highest demand for TOEFL examinations and warned the new policy creates "overlapping barriers" — a US visa travel ban combined with sanctions restricting access to English proficiency exams, educational services, and US university enrollment.
- NIAC also urged reversal of suspended licenses for Iranian American remittances to family members in Iran and for Iran-US sports matches, warning the latter "carries significant risk of complicating the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles."
- Abdi argued the sanctions, called "Operation Economic Outcast" and aimed at pressuring Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, have "no conceivable impact on the Iranian government" and are instead "already being felt by American entities and Iranian students."
Why it matters: Iranian students now face overlapping barriers — a US visa travel ban plus blocked access to TOEFL, GRE, and Duolingo exams — even though NIAC argues these sanctions cannot pressure Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. The collateral damage also extends to the 2028 LA Olympics via suspended sports-match licenses, eroding US soft-power channels with no stated diplomatic return.
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