University of Chicago Persian antiquities Crisis

The National Iranian American Council ("a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community") is warning that a new proposal by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) which will soon be considered by the full Senate as part of its latest Iran sanctions bill will "make it easier for individuals to seize and auction off priceless ancient Persian antiquities held by American museums and universities in order to collect court judgments against the Iranian government". I am not clear how that works as Sen Menendez's proposals seem to refer to financial institutions, but just in case thought I'd mention it here.

The Wikipedia summary of this bizarre and disturbing case can be seen here: University of Chicago Persian antiquities crisis. Check out the lawyer behind such culturally philistine ideas, Providence, Rhode Island attorney David J. Strachman. Obviously US collectors and dealers are going to be self-interested head over heels about that, Strachan says a number of them have expressed interest in acquiring this stuff.