• Non-binding language supporting the work of American non-governmental organizations engaged in humanitarian and people-to-people programs in Iran;
• A binding provision explicitly permitting the export to Iran of a wide range of goods, including goods related to humanitarian needs, internet and online communications, safe operation of commercial aircraft, and other goods whose export is in the national interest of the United States.
• A provision imposing sanctions on human rights violators.
• A provision imposing sanctions on people who help Iran censor communications and the internet.

APN President and CEO Debra DeLee issued the following statement about the amended bill:

"APN has long been one of the lone voices opposing this legislation and expressing concerns about specific things the bill did - and did not - include.  The amendments made to the bill in conference vindicate our position.  Chairman Berman (D-CA) and Chairman Dodd (D-CT) deserve credit for paving the way for many important changes by their serious and responsible stewardship of this complicated, controversial and, ultimately, politicized legislation.  Given the intense and ceaseless lobbying that accompanied this bill from the outset, their leadership in achieving these changes is all the more admirable.

"Nonetheless, APN's core concern about this bill remains unchanged: imposing sanctions the goal of which is to 'cripple' the civilian economy and inflict misery on the population - in the hopes that this population will rise up against its government - is a flawed and in all likelihood counterproductive approach.  It is an approach that has failed for decades in Iran.  It failed in Iraq and Haiti.  It has failed in Cuba and North Korea.  And it is an approach that only last week Israel abandoned in Gaza, recognizing that squeezing the population of Gaza with a blockade on civilian goods had not only failed to force Hamas out of power, but had enabled Hamas (and the world) to blame Israel for all the misery the people of Gaza were facing.  It took Israel three years to recognize the error of this approach.  It is regrettable that Congress did not draw the obvious lesson from these experiences.

"Moreover, we note with deep regret that the conference report - which runs 124 pages - does not include a single positive reference to diplomacy or engagement.  Anyone reading the report would be hard-pressed not to draw the conclusion that Congress believes sanctions alone will be sufficient to change the behavior of Iran's government, and that if these sanctions fail, the answer is even more and harsher sanctions.  APN recognizes that sanctions can be a potentially powerful tool in foreign policy, but they are a tool, not a policy.  The fact that Congress did not see fit to include even non-binding language in this bill endorsing diplomatic efforts, US or multilateral, in parallel with sanctions, sends a resounding and very troubling message - one that is inconsistent with both US national security interests and with the approach of the Obama Administration.

"Finally, the timing of the passage of the bill is unfortunate.  Less than a month ago the United Nations Security Council adopted the most far-reaching multilateral sanctions on Iran in history.  It is regrettable that Congress chose neither to recognize the importance of this step - and the Obama Administration's historic victory in achieving it - nor to allow these new multilateral sanctions time to take effect and potentially yield positive results on the diplomatic track.  Passing new unilateral sanctions immediately on the heels of these new UN sanctions risks sending the message that the United States is not interested in multilateral action or engagement to deal with Iran."