Protests in Iran: Issues for Congress

INSIGHTi

Protests in Iran: Issues for Congress
December 15, 2022
Iran has been roiled by nationwide unrest since protests began after the September 2022 death of Mahsa
Amini, a 22-year old woman, who reportedly was beaten by security forces while in custody for allegedly
violating Iran’s mandatory hijab (head covering) law. Women have played a prominent role in the
protests, which have been geographically dispersed, feature a broad range of grievances, and include what
media reports described as “one of the largest general strikes in decades.” Iranian government personnel
have reportedly killed hundreds of protesters and arrested thousands in response. The Iranian government
has hanged protesters sentenced to death for their part in the protests. Iranian officials blamed the United
States (as well as Israel and Saudi Arabia) for fomenting what they call “riots.” More than three months
into the protests, neither the government nor the protesters have shown signs of backing down.
Observers are wrestling with the extent to which the protests, information about which is opaque, fluid,
and highly contested, represent a threat to the Iranian government. One expert has compared the 2022
unrest to the circumstances that preceded the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Observers also highlight the
government’s determination to crush dissent. On December 5, Director of National Intelligence Avril
Haines stated “we have yet to see how this ultimately evolves … this is not something that we see right
now as being … an imminent threat to the regime.”
Some Members of Congress have issued statements and proposed legislation condemning the crackdown,
and Congress may consider how protests impact U.S. policy initiatives on Iran, including nuclear talks,
and U.S. support for democracy programs.
Administration Responses
In addition to statements, including by President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in support
of the protesters, the Administration has taken other actions, including:
New sanctions designations. Following Amini’s death, the Biden Administration issued new
designations, invoking Executive Order (E.O.) 13553, with respect to serious human rights abuses by
Iran’s government; E.O. 13606, with respect to grave human rights abuses by the governments of Iran and
Syria via information technology; and E.O. 13846, which authorizes sanctions on persons who engage in
censorship or other activities with respect to Iran. Several military and security forces were already
designated under other E.O.s, including Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces (LEF). Entities so designated
since September include Iran’s Morality Police (a component of the LEF) and a number of Iranian
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government entities and officials responsible for the crackdown and internet censorship. On December 9,
the Administration designated an LEF commander and a prison warden pursuant to E.O. 13818, which
implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. These are the first Iranian entities
designated under E.O. 13818.
Export license and Internet service. In September, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of
Foreign Assets Control issued Iran General License D-2, designed to expand internet services authorized
for export licensing from the United States to Iran to counter what officials described as Tehran’s move to
“cut off access to the Internet for most of its 80 million citizens to prevent the world from watching its
violent crackdown on peaceful protestors.” Treasury officials stated that the new license expands access
to cloud-based services, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), and anti-surveillance tools critical to secure
communication.
Action at international bodies. In late November, the U.N. Human Rights Council authorized a fact-
finding mission to investigate allegations of human rights abuses committed by the Iranian government.
The United States also led a successful effort to remove Iran from U.N. Commission on the Status of
Women in December 2022.
Options for Congress
Some bills and resolutions have been introduced to express support for Iranian protesters and call on
Iran’s government to cease violence. Additional legislative measures Members could consider include:
Support for civil society. The United States has supported civil society and human rights in Iran
primarily through the State Department-administered Near East Regional Democracy (NERD) program
since FY2009. For FY2023, the Biden Administration requested $55 million for NERD to “foster a
vibrant civil society, increase the free flow of information, and promote the exercise of human rights.”
Congress appropriated $55 million for NERD in FY2022, including $16.7 million for global internet
freedom programs. NERD-funded training (e.g., internet freedom, legal aid) for Iranian activists takes
place outside the country due to Iran’s resistance to opposition activities supported by foreign donors.
Members could consider whether to make additional funding available for Iran-related democracy
programs, while considering the security of recipients, and the risk that Iranian officials may cite such
programming in their ongoing efforts to discredit protestors as foreign agents. The decentralized nature of
the protest movement, which appears to lack unified leadership or organization, makes it difficult to
assess what government steps, if any, would satisfy the protesters, and also may complicate U.S. efforts to
provide support.
Nuclear negotiations. In the context of the protests, some Members of Congress have renewed calls on
the Biden Administration to terminate indirect talks with Iran over the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement. Biden Administration officials are reportedly reluctant to do so,
though they state that negotiations are moribund and no longer a focus of U.S. efforts. In 2015, Congress
passed legislation mandating congressional review of agreements related to Iran’s nuclear program;
review of any revised or new agreement could present opportunities for Members to pursue democracy-
related priorities. Congress could, for example, condition U.S. action with respect to the JCPOA on the
Iranian government’s response to the protests; such conditions might be expected to meet Iranian
rejection. Proposed legislation would effectively preclude a revived nuclear agreement by prohibiting the
President from waiving sanctions until the Administration makes certain certifications about Iranian
behavior. Secretary Blinken on December 4 stated that the regime’s actions in response to the protests
“have only deepened our conviction that Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. We
continue to believe that the best way to ensure this is through diplomacy.”

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Author Information

Carla E. Humud
Clayton Thomas
Analyst in Middle Eastern Affairs
Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs





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