title: Illogical and unethical scientific sanctions against Iranian authors.
abstract: Restriction of free submission of Iranian manuscripts is not a new matter. However, the recent political decision of the USA Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury saying who can and who cannot publish scientific papers in journals is completely against free distribution of data in scholarly and scientific communities and scientific journals and publications which requires discussions and challenges with the statutory authorities. Publishers' mission requires bringing suit against this illogical and unethical decision. Science should not be involved in the political game of sanctions. Policies of governments and the origins of the manuscript, including the race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, and political belief of the authors should not affect the editorial decisions of scientific publications.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  None.
authors.affiliation: Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center AND Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Mazandaran, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zarghami