I would like to take issue with the statement by an American Chemical Society (ACS) member quoted in the article that "ACS should 'refrain from allowing politics' to get in the way of scientific openness."
The U.S.'s relationship with Iran may not be that of declared war, but it isn't one of peace, either. The kidnapping of soldiers of an ally or the supplying with weapons and funds of direct enemies of the U.S. and its allies by Iran constitute acts of war. Given Iran's hostile actions, we are not simply witnessing the enactment of differences of opinion or a petty power struggle, which is how many interpret the word "politics," as in "office politics," but with a clash of dramatically different world views, each extending to how they view science, as well.
Far from being above everyday life, science is a part of it and thus governed by politics, determined in the United States by its people as determined by the U.S. Constitution. It is thus the prerogative of the legitimately elected government of the United States to impose an embargo whose purpose it is to make life in Iran more difficult, forcing sacrifices on the country's inhabitants, including its scientists. That scientists in Iran are hurt by this is fully intended. We must directly hinder those who work toward goals hostile to the United States. Those with legitimate scientific goals, whose impediment is ancillary to the direct intent of the embargo, will have further incentive to work toward regime change. Regardless, we have no way of knowing who belongs to which of these two groups of scientists.
As a German, I recognize that by far not every German scientist and engineer helping their country in the past war effort was a Nazi but may have acted out of pure patriotism. I also understand that it would have decidedly been in the U.S. interest to curtail, for example, the V-2 team's members' access to the allies' scientific advances, classified or not.
After World War II many German scientists were welcomed back to the world's scientific community, though some with lingering suspicions. Let us hope that our Iranian colleagues who truly want to promote science can soon again be part of today's scientific community in full liberty.
Dominik Hoffmann
Scientific consultant
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