Sneak Peek: FCNL's Iran Work in 2012

Preventing War with Iran in 2012

As threats against Iran escalate on the campaign trail here in the U.S. and speculation mounts that a covert war is already well underway, preventing a full-fledged war with Iran will be a top priority for FCNL’s work in 2012. FCNL will be stepping up its work to urge policymakers and electoral candidates to support direct channels for communications with Iran, as former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen has recommended.

Another Senate Sanctions Bill

The Senate Banking Committee is expected to release its own Iran sanctions legislation slated for 2012 passage in February, likely producing some combination of the House sanctions bills that passed last December (H.R. 1905 and H.R. 2105) and an existing Senate sanctions bill (S. 1048). To help demonstrate widespread constituent opposition to these pressure-only, dangerously provocative congressional initiatives, FCNL has begun distributing “Diplomacy—not War—with Iran” postcards throughout the country, and collecting them for lobby visits with Senate offices in D.C. and in-state offices.

Countering Congressional Support for Israel to Attack Iran

Ignoring the warnings from two former heads of Israel’s intelligence agency that an attack against Iran would be disastrous for Israel, some members of Congress are supporting House legislation to endorse Israeli military action against Iran. Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak has warned in a CNN interview last November that before “three quarters of a year” is up—or before the end of August 2012—that Israel predicts that Iran will have reached Israel’s ‘red line’, when it would make a decision about whether to attack Iran.

In 2012, FCNL will work to prevent war with Iran through a strategic lobbying and grassroots mobilization effort. We will be actively lobbying against the push for war, and producing timely action alerts, fact-sheets, talking points, media op-eds and other educational materials to empower citizen lobbying efforts around the country.