I (and supposedly many other who had written emails to ACS expressing their concerns regarding the expulsion of Iranian members) received the following letter from ACS a couple of days ago. It carries two main points with it:

1. That ACS will not be providing its members in sanctioned countries with two of the membership services (career development and subsidized attendance of ACS meetings)
2. ACS's future coordination with National Academies regarding scientific collaboration.

The PDF file was sent from ACS's president's email account and is password protected.

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[ACS Logo]
American Chemical Society
[ACS Address]

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Catherine T. Hunt
President-Elect, 2006
President, 2007
Immediate Past President, 2008

May 19, 2007

[Deleted Name]
[Deleted Address]

Dear [Deleted Name],

Thank you for your recent communication regarding the American Chemical Society's (ACS) action affecting its members residing in Iran. We have carefully reviewed all of the comments from concerned ACS members and others on this complex issue. In addition, our General Counsel and his staff have innitiated additional contacts with the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and have conducted a further legal review. We are pleased to inform you after considering all of these factors we have reinstated these chemists from Iran as ACS members.

The ACS will now be offering members in OFAC sanctioned countried our member benefits, with two main restrictions: these members will not have access to services relating to career development and they will not be able to register for ACS national meeting at discounted rates. As you may know, the ACS has for many years pursured policies to foster freedom of scientific exchange and collaboration. We are continuing our efforts, through an OFAC licensing application, to be able to provide these members with all ACS member services. In addition, we are coordinating with the National Academy of Sciences and other scientific societies on broader OFAC issues relating to scientific collaboration.

Again, thank you for your valuable input on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Caterine T. (Katie) Hunt

CTH:ds

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