AJC Reaffirms Support for Sanctions Against Iran

American Jewish Committee
Friday, 5 May 2000

The American Jewish Committee today expressed deep concern about the fate of 13 Iranian Jews who are on trial in Shiraz.

"The show trial underway in Shiraz of 13 Iranian Jews imprisoned for more than a year is an offense to conscience and to universal concepts of justice," AJC said in a statement adopted on the final day of its 94th Annual Meeting. The trial "is the harshest example to date of the repression to which Iran's Jewish community has been subjected since the 1979 revolution."

AJC also reaffirmed in the statement its longstanding advocacy for maintaining sanctions against Iran until the Islamic regime ends its support of terrorist groups and its own development of weapons of mass destruction.

The trial in Iran, which began on May 1, was very much on the minds of the 700 delegates attending AJC's Annual Meeting, as well as key speakers.

Addressing AJC's Annual Dinner last night U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright declared: "Governments from around the world are right in telling officials in Iran that what happens in the trial of the 13 Jews will have repercussions everywhere."

In the policy statement adopted today, AJC emphasized that it is not the Iranian people, but "the policies of the Iranian government, promulgated by the religious authorities in control of the foreign policy, security and judicial institutions, that are the source of grave concern."

"The threats posed by Iran to international peace and to basic human rights continue to demand an international response both firm and flexible," said the AJC. "We urge the granting of no further unilateral political or trade concessions to Iran, such as the March 2000 easing of import restrictions by the U.S. Administration."

Until Iranian practices in the areas of human rights, terrorism, arms proliferation and Middle East peace are altered, the AJC called for:

- new diplomatic efforts to confront Iranian violations of human rights, with special focus on the peril faced by the country's Jewish minority; more broadly international action to seek freedom for the 13 Iranian Jews now standing trial after being incarcerated for more than a year without cause or due process;
- economic and political sanctions, including denial of access to credit through the World Bank and other international lending agencies, to prevent Iran from gaining the resources needed to finance the acquisition of potentially destabilizing weaponry;
- strict control on the transfer to Iran of technology with potential military applications, and the enforcement of measures to discourage, and impose tangible penalties for, such transfers by other states and entities – including technology transfers by Russian entities found to be in violation of the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act; and
- concerted efforts to press Iran, through diplomatic and other means, to cease support for terrorism in the Middle East and internationally – noting in particular the risk of provocative actions by the Iranian-backed Hizbollah in southern Lebanon after the planned withdrawal of Israeli forces from the border security zone.

The full text of the AJC Statement on Iran follows:

THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE STATEMENT ON IRAN
May 5, 2000

The show trial underway in Shiraz of 13 Iranian Jews arrested and imprisoned for more than a year on preposterous charges of spying for Israel and the United States is an offense to conscience and to universal concepts of justice. Conducted in a Revolutionary Court under the authority of Islamist ideologues by a judge who also acts as prosecutor, under conditions in which defendants have been denied access to attorneys of their choosing, coerced confessions are standard practice, and proceedings are closed to observers, the trial is a grotesque farce, a demonstration of Iranian contempt for human rights.

This outrageous trial is also a window on political and social developments in Iran. Carried on in the face of urgent humanitarian appeals from countries around the world, it is a stark example of the repression to which Iran's Jewish community has been subjected since the 1979 revolution. It is widely viewed, as well, as a byproduct and gauge of the escalating political battle for the future of the Islamic Republic that is being waged daily in the courts, in the media and in the streets of Iran.

In universities and the press today, moves to ease the Iranian regime's political and social repression gather strength – and are met by stern measures imposed by religious authorities. Public frustration with the nation's political, social and economic status quo yields overwhelming and encouraging support for parliamentary candidates pledged to reform the system – prompting hard-liners to take legal steps barring selected reform candidates from assuming office and prosecuting and imprisoning others on a range of charges.

But while political forces within Iran contend for power over domestic conditions, the nation's foreign and security policies, as well as its internal security and judicial systems, remain the unchallenged province of the regime's clerical leaders. It is these policies and systems that pose threats to international order and universal principles of human rights, and that demand the attention of the United States and other nations committed to peace, law, liberty and tolerance.

Iran's threats are manifested in several ways:

- support for subversion and terrorism in the Middle East and internationally, including the provision of arms and financing to the anti-Israel terrorist groups Hizbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad;
- opposition to the Arab-Israeli peace process and to the normalization of relations between the Muslim world and Israel, including attempts to undermine Palestinian support for negotiations with Israel;
- aggressive efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them, including nuclear technology and fissile material, and ballistic missiles capable of reaching any state in the Middle East as well as targets in Europe or beyond; and
- repression of religious minorities, including a Jewish community that has defined rights but is barred from such basic customs and practices as teaching Hebrew and keeping contact with Jewish communities abroad.

The threats posed by Iran to international peace and to basic human rights continue to demand an international response both firm and flexible. To that end – and until Iran's behavior in the areas above cited warrants its inclusion in the community of civilized states – we urge the granting of no further unilateral political or trade concessions to Iran, such as the March 2000 easing of import restrictions by the U.S. Administration. Until such time that Iranian practices in the areas of human rights, terrorism, arms proliferation and Middle East peace are altered, we call on the U.S. and other governments to pursue:

- new diplomatic efforts to confront Iranian violations of human rights, with special focus on the peril faced by the country's Jewish minority, and international action to seek freedom for the 13 Iranian Jews now standing trial after being incarcerated for more than a year without cause or due process;
- economic and political sanctions, including denial of access to credit through the World Bank and other international lending agencies, to prevent Iran from gaining the resources needed to finance the acquisition of potentially destabilizing weaponry;
- strict control on the transfer to Iran of technology with potential military applications, and the enforcement of measures to discourage, and impose tangible penalties for, such transfers by other states and entities – including technology transfers by Russian entities found to be in violation of the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act; and
- concerted efforts to press Iran, through diplomatic and other means, to cease support for terrorism in the Middle East and internationally – noting in particular the risk of provocative actions by the Iranian-backed Hizbollah in southern Lebanon after the planned withdrawal of Israeli forces from the border security zone.

In advocating these measures, the American Jewish Committee emphasizes that it is not the Iranian people but the policies of the Iranian government – promulgated by the religious authorities in control of the foreign policy, security and judicial institutions – that are the source of grave concern. The Committee looks to the Iranian people, inheritors of a rich legacy in a land of strategic and cultural importance for three millennia, to assume responsibility for the revision of their government's policies in accord with norms of peaceful and lawful behavior, and welcomes international efforts to assist the Iranian people in fulfilling that responsibility.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org