Last December the American Chemical Society rescinded the memberships of 36 scientists in Iran and 1 in Sudan, claiming the move was necessary to adhere to US law. In mid-April the society applied to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for a license to provide membership services to scientists in countries under trade sanctions. Then, in a turnaround, ACS sent a letter in mid-May to the ousted scientists welcoming them back as members.
In a widely circulated letter dated 30 April, ACS executive director and CEO Madeleine Jacobs explains that lawyers reviewed OFAC regulations and consulted with OFAC before advising ACS that providing membership services to sanctioned countries violates US law. Surprisingly, Jacobs says she learned about the expulsions from a 30 March report in Science. “We had a serious breakdown in communications,” she writes.
Some ACS members and members of other professional societies were upset...
