AMBA Secures OFAC Guidance for Pilgrimage to Iran

As part of AMBA’s year long fight for religious freedom, the organization recently obtained a victory in securing the right of pilgrims to visit the Imam Reza (AS) shrine in Mashhad, Iran. At the end of President Trump time in office, the Administration released a slew of sanctions against Iran, notably sanctioning Astan Quds Razavi, the charitable organization that operates the Imam Reza (AS) shrine. In the wake of the sanctions, AMBA worked with a sanctions lawyer and community members to send a letter requesting that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recognize the religious importance of visitation to the shrine and ensure visitors from the US were not prosecuted under the sanctions law. In September 2021, OFAC released guidance stating that pilgrimage to the shrine was exempt from the sanctions order. Read more about the guidance here.