NIAC Urges Trump Admin to Lift Sanations Harming Iranian Students — SkimNews
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- The National Iranian American Council wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, warning that the 'imminent suspension of long-standing general licenses' is harming American universities, testing organizations, and Iranian nationals pursuing US education.
- Educational Testing Service suspended TOEFL and GRE testing in Iran following the sanctions, and the Duolingo English Test was made unavailable to students with Iranian IDs, cutting Iranian students off from exams required for US academic study.
- NIAC president Jamal Abdi argued the sanctions, aimed at pressuring Iran over restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, have 'no conceivable impact on the Iranian government' and instead signal that 'the US is at war with the Iranian people.'
- Abdi called for immediate reinstatement of 31 CFR § 560.544, which authorizes educational activities by US persons in third countries, and Iran General License G, which covers educational exchanges.
- Abdi also urged reversing suspensions on remittances from Iranian Americans to family members in Iran and on US-Iran sports matches, warning the latter 'carries significant risk of complicating the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.'
- Iranian students now face overlapping barriers — a US visa travel ban alongside sanctions restricting access to English proficiency exams, educational services, and US university enrollment — according to NIAC.
Why it matters: Iranian students are cut off from TOEFL, GRE, and Duolingo exams despite the sanctions targeting the Iranian government over the Strait of Hormuz. NIAC argues a decade-old humanitarian carve-out designed to spare ordinary Iranians is now being deliberately reversed, and the collateral damage extends to US universities, remittance flows, and the 2028 LA Olympics.
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