March 7, 2010 -- New York -- AJC is urging the Obama Administration and the U.S. Congress to tighten the enforcement of existing economic sanctions against Iran.

The urgent call to action comes in the wake of a New York Times investigative report that reveals gaping holes, resulting in the U.S. government having awarded more than $107 billion in contracts, grants and other benefits to foreign and multinational American companies while they were doing business in Iran.

“Most disturbing is the revelation by the Times that our own government has never enforced the Iran Sanctions Act,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. Enacted in 1996, the Iran Sanctions Act provisions would penalize foreign companies that invest more than $20 million in a given year to develop Iran’s oil and gas fields.

AJC has long advocated for the strongest possible UN Security Council sanctions against Iran, and has applauded U.S. initiatives at the federal and state levels to disinvest from Iran. 

“If the United States is going to legitimately lead the global effort to stop Iran’s menacing    march to achieve nuclear-weapons capability, then we need to be true to ourselves,” said Harris. “The nuclear clock is ticking. Let’s be clear. A nuclear Iran will threaten the entire Middle East, as well as Europe and beyond.”

“Closing the large holes in the U.S. sanctions policy should be a first priority,” said Harris.

Indeed, as the Times pointed out in its front-page Sunday news story, “For all the American rules and focus, there is still plenty of room for companies to profit in crucial areas of Iran’s economy without fear of reprisal or loss of United States government business.”