Dear Congressman [insert],

I am deeply concerned over the proposal of Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) to reauthorize the Iran Libya Sanctions Act of 1996, due to expire in August 2001, for another 5 years.

As an Iranian American, I oppose any further US sanctions against my homeland. ILSA reauthorization is not just about oil, its about change, ordinary people, and the future of two great nations. As a nation of laws in the US, we inextricably endorse certain perceptions with our Congressional actions. What we sometimes miss are the impact of these laws on the lives of ordinary people. Sanctions hurt us as Iranian Americans, not just companies on both sides of the border. Reauthorizing ILSA for another five years will not help our relationship with the Iranian people. It is time for the US to consider the benefits of building a bridge to Iran based on trade and trust.

The new Bush Administration needs more time to develop its own cohesive Middle East and Iran policy in Washington. We should wait on the ILSA debate until after the June 2001 Iranian elections. In the past, the US has responded positively to democratic developments in Iran. Renewing ILSA just months before the elections preempts a tremendous diplomatic opportunity. Renewing ILSA means the US policy on Iran from 1996 to 2001 has not changed, even though Iran has. Iran will conclude that if the US policy has not evolved, then why should we.

ILSA was erratically applied, nonetheless it damaged the EU-US relationship, antagonized Iran, and led its proponents into believing that it would get Iran to play ball. None of it worked as planned. The EU considers extraterritorial legislation to be unacceptable both in law and in principle. ILSA has not stopped foreign oil company investment in Iran.

There is an agricultural effect to renewing ILSA. The US is still trying to recapture its $500 million agricultural export market to Iran that it once enjoyed in 1979. In today's dollars that would be well over a billion dollars in lost sales. According to the US Labor and Commerce Departments, each one billion dollars in US exports creates some 17,000 jobs in this country. That's just one industry. US manufacturing and heavy machinery makers like Caterpillar and Boeing have the ability to export billions to Iran every year.

I believe that ILSA renewal hurts Iranian Americans, US farmers, and the fragile course of dialogue among these two great nations. Given ILSA's lack of enforcement, its confrontational approach with the EU, companies, and the people of Iran, as well as our long term national interests, I say let ILSA sunset in 2001. Please do not cosponsor ILSA Reauthorization in 2001.

Thank you for your leadership on this important issue.

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