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United States
U.S. sanctions against Iran come in three forms: legislation by Congress, executive orders by the president, and other regulations by the executive branch.
- 10 January 2020: Executive Order 13902 (presently in force) is issued, instituting sanctions targeting Iran’s construction, mining, manufacturing, and textile sectors. Sanctions include asset freezes and denial of entry into the U.S. for those operating in or providing support for these sectors. The EO also authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to sanction financial institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitate transactions for or on behalf of any of the aforementioned sanctioned persons. Those sanctions include a ban on opening, or strict conditions on maintaining, of correspondent and pass-through accounts.
- 24 June 2019: Executive Order 13876 (presently in force) is issued, instituting sanctions, including seizure of property and denial of entry into the U.S., against Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his network. Those sanctioned include the following:
- Supreme Leader Khamenei;
- Khamenei’s office;
- state officials appointed by Khamenei or his office;
- state officials appointed by state officials who themselves are appointed by him or his office;
- heads of Iranian entities in Iran, or heads of Iran-controlled entities outside Iran, who are appointed by persons who themselves are appointed by him or his office;
- providers of support for any of the aforementioned sanctioned persons;
- recipients of contributions from any of the aforementioned sanctioned persons;
- those who own, control, or serve as agents for any of the aforementioned sanctioned persons; and
- board members or senior executive officers of any of the aforementioned sanctioned persons.
The EO also authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to sanction financial institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitate transactions for or on behalf of any of the aforementioned sanctioned persons. Those sanctions include a ban on opening, or strict conditions on maintaining, of correspondent and pass-through accounts.
- 23 October 2018: The Hizballah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2018 (presently in force) is enacted, authorizing freezing of property and financial transactions, banning entry into the U.S., and revoking visas of any foreign person who “knowingly provides significant financial, material, or technological support” to Hezbollah or its agents or affiliates. The legislation also authorizes freezing property and financial transactions of any “agency or instrumentality of a foreign state” (i.e., Iran) that “conducted significant joint combat operations with, or significantly supported combat operations of” Hezbollah or “provided significant financial support for or to, or significant arms or related materiel to” Hezbollah.
- 6 August 2018: Executive Order 13846 (presently in force) is issued after the U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) (also known as the Iran nuclear deal). This EO reimposes sanctions that the Obama administration had revoked pursuant to the JCPOA. The sanctions in question were instituted in EOs 13574, 13590, 13622, and 13645, all of which had been revoked in 2016 by EO 13716. This EO also continues in effect sanctions authorities created in EOs 13628 and 13716.
- 2 August 2017: The Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) (presently in force) is enacted, requiring sanctions under Executive Order 13324 to be applied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and IRGC officials, agents, and affiliated entities. EO 13224 authorizes freezing the assets of persons and entities that:
- “pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States”;
- “are owned or controlled by, or to act for or on behalf of those persons…”;
- “assist in, sponsor, or provide financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of, such acts of terrorism” or persons sanctioned under this EO; or
- “are otherwise associated with” those sanctioned under this EO.
- 16 January 2016: Executive Order 13716 (parts of which remain in force) is issued to implement U.S. commitments made in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) (also known as the Iran nuclear deal). Among other things, this EO:
- Revokes EOs 13574, 13590, 13622, and 13645, and consequently terminates the sanctions in those documents;
- Amends EO 13628 to remove sanctions related to sales of, purchases of, support to, and other activities regarding Iranian refined petroleum products and infrastructure;
- Authorizes implementation of existing sanctions outside the scope of the JCPOA, including certain provisions of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act that institute sanctions on persons involved in Iran’s energy, shipping, or shipbuilding sectors, or on Iranians on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list;
- Authorizes new sanctions outside the scope of the JCPOA, including:
- banning loans from U.S. financial institutions to;
- banning foreign-exchange transactions falling under U.S. jurisdiction involving;
- banning payments and credit transfers falling under U.S. jurisdiction involving;
- freezing property and property interests of;
- prohibiting U.S. persons from investing in or buying significant amounts of equity or debt instruments from;
- restricting or banning imports into the U.S. from; and
- banning entry into the U.S. by sanctioned persons under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act; and
- Authorizes the new sanctions above on persons involved in or providing support for corruption or other activities involved in diverting goods intended for the Iranian people.
- 18 December 2015: The Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act (presently in force) is enacted, keeping financial institutions that conduct transactions with Hezbollah or its subsidiaries or agents out of the U.S. financial system. Among other things, the measure:
- Requires the president to block property transactions, bar entry into the U.S., and revoke visas of any foreign individual or entity that provides significant support to some Hezbollah affiliates or that raises funds for Hezbollah;
- Requires the president to seize the property of any agent or foreign state instrumentality that has supported or engaged in combat operations with Hezbollah; or given significant financial or military support for Hezbollah;
- Requires the president to seize the property of Hezbollah-affiliated networks, including those involved in significant transnational crime; and
- Authorizes the President to create “enhanced due diligence policies” for foreign financial institutions regarding correspondent or payable-accounts.
- 3 June 2013: Executive Order 13645 (presently in force) is issued, authorizing sanctions that include:
- Banning the opening and banning or strictly conditioning the maintenance of payable-through or correspondent accounts by, or freezing all property or property interests of, foreign financial institutions that knowingly conducted or facilitated significant transactions regarding the purchase or sale of Iranian rials or contracts whose value are based on the rial’s exchange rate, or maintained significant funds or accounts outside Iran that were denominated in the rial;
- Freezing the property and property interests of any person found to have “materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, any Iranian person included on the [U.S. State Department’s] list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons”;
- Banning the opening, and banning or strictly conditioning the maintenance, of payable-through or correspondent accounts by foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitated significant transactions for any Iranian person included on the [U.S. State Department’s] list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons or for the sale, supply, or transfer to Iran of significant goods or services used in connection with Iran’s automotive sector;
- Denying Export-Import Bank guarantees, insurance, extension of credit, or participation in such an extension for export of any goods or services to the sanctioned person;
- Denying any specific license or other specific permission or authority required to export or re-export goods or technology to the sanctioned person;
- Taking “such actions as they deem appropriate” by the Federal Reserve’s chairman and the president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, including denying or terminating designation of the sanctioned person “as a primary dealer in U.S. government (USG) debt instruments”;
- Barring the sanctioned person from serving as a USG agent or a repository for USG funds;
- Barring agencies from procurement or contracting for procurement from the sanctioned person; and
- Denying a visa and excluding from the U.S. “a corporate officer or principal of, or a shareholder with a controlling interest in, a sanctioned person.”
The EO also may apply the following sanctions to persons sanctioned pursuant to section 1244(d)(1)(A), 1245(a)(1), or 1246(a)(1) of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act:
- “Prohibit[ing] any United States financial institution from making loans or providing credits to the sanctioned person totaling more than $10,000,000 in any 12-month period, unless such person is engaged in activities to relieve human suffering and the loans or credits are provided for such activities”;
- “Prohibit[ing] any transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and in which the sanctioned person has any interest”;
- “Prohibit[ing] any transfers of credit or payments between financial institutions or by, through, or to any financial institution, to the extent that such transfers or payments are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and involve any interest of the sanctioned person”;
- Freezing “all property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person (including any foreign branch) of the sanctioned person, and provide that such property and interests in property may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in”;
- “Prohibit[ing] any United States person from investing in or purchasing significant amounts of equity or debt instruments of a sanctioned person”;
- “Restrict[ing] or prohibit[ing] imports of goods, technology, or services, directly or indirectly, into the United States from the sanctioned person”; or
- “Impos[ing] on the principal executive officer or officers, or persons performing similar functions and with similar authorities, of a sanctioned person [the aforementioned sanctions pursuant to section 1244(d)(1)(A), 1245(a)(1), or 1246(a)(1) of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act].”
The EO also seizes the property and property interests, within U.S. jurisdiction, of persons who are found:
- To have engaged, on or after January 2, 2013, in corruption or other activities relating to the diversion of goods, including agricultural commodities, food, medicine, and medical devices, intended for the people of Iran;
- To have engaged, on or after January 2, 2013, in corruption or other activities relating to the misappropriation of proceeds from the sale or resale of goods described in subsection (a)(i) of this section;
- To have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the activities described in subsection (a)(i) or (a)(ii) of this section or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section; or
- To be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section.
- 2 January 2013: The Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (IFCA) (presently in force) is enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2013. Among other provisions, the legislation:
- Designates port operators in Iran and entities in Iran’s energy, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors, including the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), and the affiliates thereof, as entities of proliferation concern;
- Requires the president to freeze, and ban transactions in, the property of any person who is a port operator in Iran; is part of Iran’s energy, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors; or “knowingly provides significant financial, material, technological, or other support to, or goods or services in support of any activity or transaction on behalf of or for the benefit of” the sanctioned persons mentioned immediately above;
- Requires the president to impose at least five out of a menu of sanctions, and permits him to also impose the following sanctions, on a person who “sells, supplies, or transfers to or from Iran… significant goods or services used in connection with the energy, shipping, or shipbuilding sectors of Iran, including [NIOC, NITC, and IRISL]”: “prohibit[ing] any United States financial institution from making loans or providing credits to the sanctioned person totaling more than $10,000,000 in any 12-month period, unless such person is engaged in activities to relieve human suffering and the loans or credits are provided for such activities”; “prohibit[ing] any transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and in which the sanctioned person has any interest”; “prohibit[ing] any transfers of credit or payments between financial institutions or by, through, or to any financial institution, to the extent that such transfers or payments are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and involve any interest of the sanctioned person”; “[freezing] all property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person (including any foreign branch) of the sanctioned person, and provide that such property and interests in property may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in”; “prohibit[ing] any United States person from investing in or purchasing significant amounts of equity or debt instruments of a sanctioned person”; “restrict[ing] or prohibit[ing] imports of goods, technology, or services, directly or indirectly, into the United States from the sanctioned person”; or “imposing on the principal executive officer or officers, or persons performing similar functions and with similar authorities, of a sanctioned person [the aforementioned sanctions]…”
- Authorizes imposition of at least five out of the aforementioned menu of sanctions on the buying of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran;
- Authorizes sanctions on a person who “conducts or facilitates a financial transaction for the sale, supply, or transfer to or from Iran of natural gas”;
- Authorizes imposition of at least five out of the aforementioned menu of sanctions on a person who sells, supplies, or transfers to or from Iran precious metals and certain other materials—including “graphite, raw or semi-finished metals such as aluminum and steel, coal, and software for integrating industrial processes”—that can “be used in connection with the energy, shipping, or shipbuilding sectors of Iran or any sector of the economy of Iran determined… to be controlled directly or indirectly by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps… [be] sold, supplied, or transferred to or from an Iranian person included on the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury… [or can] be used in connection with the nuclear, military, or ballistic missile programs of Iran”;
- Authorizes imposition of at least five out of the aforementioned menu of sanctions on a person who knowingly provides insurance or reinsurance or underwriting services for any sanctioned activity regarding Iran or for any person who is sanctioned or is engaged in sanctioned activities;
- Requires the president to ban the opening, and ban or strictly condition the maintenance, in the U.S. of a payable-through or correspondent account by a foreign bank that knowingly facilitated a significant transaction for any Iranian person on the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals and blocked-persons list;
- Requires the president to sanction Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting and its president; and
- Requires the president to sanction persons found to be engaged in “the diversion of goods, including agricultural commodities, food, medicine, and medical devices, intended for the people of Iran, or the misappropriation of proceeds from the sale or resale of such goods.”
- 9 October 2012: Executive Order 13628 (presently in force) is issued. The measure requires the Secretary of State or the Secretary of the Treasury, as appropriate, to impose the following sanctions on a person who has already been sanctioned pursuant to the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA); the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (CISADA); or the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act (ITRSHRA):
- Bar U.S. financial institutions from making loans or providing credits to persons sanctioned under section 6(a)(3) of ISA;
- Ban any foreign-exchange transactions subject to U.S. jurisdiction in which a person sanctioned under section 6(a)(6) of ISA has any interest;
- Ban any credit transfers or payments between banks or by, through, or to any bank, if such transactions are subject to U.S. jurisdiction and involve any interest of a person sanctioned under section 6(a)(7) of ISA;
- Seize all property and property interests of persons sanctioned under section 6(a)(8) of ISA;
- Bar any U.S. person from investing in or buying significant amounts of equity or debt instruments of a person sanctioned under section 6(a)(9) of ISA;
- Impose, on principal executive officers sanctioned under section 6(a)(11), the sanctions described in the sanctions described in sections 6(a)(3), 6(a)(6), (6)(a)(7), 6(a)(8), 6(a)(9), or 6(a)(12) of ISA.
- Restrict or ban direct or indirect imports of goods, services, or technology into the U.S. by a person sanctioned under section 6(a)(12) of ISA.
The EO also freezes the property and property interests of any person found by the Secretary of the Treasury:
- To have knowingly transferred or facilitated the transfer of to the Iranian government and related entities, or Iranian nationals, goods or technology likely to be to commit serious human rights abuses against the Iranian people;
- To have knowingly provided to Iran services for the goods or technology above;
- To have provided support to the aforementioned activities or to any persons whose property or property interests are seized due to sanctions for the aforementioned activities; or
- To be owned or controlled by, or acting on or purportedly acting on behalf of, the aforementioned person.
The EO also freezes the property and property interests of any person found by the Secretary of the Treasury:
- To have engaged in censorship or activities banning, limiting, or penalizing Iranians’ freedom of expression or assembly or limiting their access to media;
- To have provided support to the aforementioned activities or to any persons whose property or property interests are seized due to sanctions for the aforementioned activities;
- 10 August 2012: The Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act (ITRSHRA) (presently in force) is enacted. Among other provisions, the legislation:
- Amends the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) to require the president to impose at least five out of a menu of sanctions (up from three) for ISA violations regarding development of Iranian petroleum resources; exportation of refined petroleum products to Iran and production of them; and development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD);
- Requires the President to impose at least five out of a menu of sanctions on persons who knowingly involve themselves in joint petroleum-development ventures outside of Iran in which “the Government of Iran is a substantial partner or investor” or “Iran could, through a direct operational role in the joint venture or by other means, receive technological knowledge or equipment not previously available to Iran that could directly and significantly contribute to the enhancement of Iran's ability to develop petroleum resources in Iran”;
- Requires the President to impose at least five out of a menu of sanctions on persons who knowingly “sells, leases, or provides to Iran goods, services, technology, or support that could directly and significantly contribute to the maintenance or enhancement of Iran's (i) ability to develop petroleum resources located in Iran; or (ii) domestic production of refined petroleum products, including any direct and significant assistance with respect to the construction, modernization, or repair of petroleum refineries or directly associated infrastructure, including construction of port facilities, railways, and roads” whose the primary use is “to support the delivery of refined petroleum products.”
- Requires the President to impose at least five out of a menu of sanctions on a person who “is a controlling beneficial owner of, or otherwise owns, operates, or controls, or insures, a vessel that, on or after the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012, was used to transport crude oil from Iran to another country”;
- Requires the President to impose at least five out of a menu of sanctions on a person involved in “concealing Iranian origin of crude oil and refined petroleum products”;
- Requires the President to impose at least five out of a menu of sanctions on a person involved in “facilitat[ing] the transshipment of, any goods, services, technology, or other items to any other person” and “knew or should have known” that such activities (1) “would likely result” in someone else providing the goods, services, technology, or other items to Iran, and (2) “would contribute materially” to Iran’s ability to get WMD or related technologies or “acquire or develop destabilizing numbers and types of advanced conventional weapons”;
- Requires the President to impose at least five out of a menu of sanctions on a person involved in “joint ventures relating to the mining, production, or transportation of uranium,” through which “uranium is transferred directly to Iran or indirectly to Iran through a third country; the Government of Iran receives significant revenue; or Iran could… receive technological knowledge or equipment not previously available to Iran that could contribute materially to [its ability]… to develop nuclear weapons or related technologies”;
- Expands the menu of sanctions under ISA to include banning a U.S. person from “investing in or purchasing significant amounts of equity or debt instruments of a sanctioned person,” exclusion from the U.S. of corporate officers, principals, principal executive officers, or shareholders with controlling interests in a sanctioned person”;
- Authorizes the President to freeze the property and block property transactions of personals involved in providing “vessels or shipping services to transport certain goods related to proliferation or terrorism activities to Iran”;
- Requires the President to impose at least five out of a menu of sanctions on a person involved in providing underwriting services, insurance, or reinsurance to the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) or National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC);
- Requires the President to impose at least five out of a menu of sanctions on a person involved in purchasing, subscribing to, facilitating the issuance of Iranian sovereign debt;
- Holds U.S. parent companies liable for Iran sanctions violations by their foreign subsidiaries;
- Requiring firms obligated to file regular reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose involvement in sanctionable activities regarding Iran;
- Excluding from the U.S. senior Iranian government officials—and their family members—involved in WMD activities, support for terrorism, or human rights abuses;
- Freezing the property of and blocking transactions by IRGC officials, agents, or affiliates;
- Requires the President to impose at least five out of a menu of sanctions on a person involved in supporting or engaging certain transactions with the IRGC or other sanctioned persons; and
- Expanding sanctions on Iranian officials involved in human rights abuses.
- 30 July 2012: Executive Order 13622 (presently in force) is issued, authorizing several new sanctions, including:
- Sanctions on foreign banks that knowingly conducted or facilitated significant transactions with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) or Naftiran Intertade Company (NICO);
- Sanctions on foreign banks that knowingly conducted or facilitated significant transactions to buy or acquire petroleum, petroleum products, petrochemical products from Iran;
- Freezing the property and interests therein of any person found to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of NIOC, NICO, or the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), or the purchase or acquisition of U.S. bank notes or precious metals by the Iranian government;
- Sanctions on individuals or entities found to knowingly engage in significant transactions to buy or acquire petroleum, petroleum products, or petrochemical products from Iran.
- Freezing the property of entities found to have assisted or provided goods or services to NIOC, NICO, or CBI;
- Freezing the property of entities found to have helped the government of Iran to buy U.S. bank notes, jewels, precious metals, or precious stones.
- 5 February 2012: Executive Order 13599 (presently in force) is issued, mandating that U.S. banks freeze U.S.-based assets of entities “owned or controlled by the Iranian government.” Those entities include the Central Bank of Iran. Previously, U.S. banks had been required to reject transactions with these entities but to return the funds to Iran. This order implements section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012.
- 21 Novebmer 2011: Executive Order 13590 (presently in force) is issued, authorizing imposition of certain sanctions on persons engaged in “selling, leasing, or providing to Iran goods, services, technology, or support that… could directly and significantly contribute to the maintenance or enhancement of Iran's ability to develop petroleum resources located in Iran” or “the maintenance or expansion of Iran's domestic production of petrochemical products.” The available sanctions include:
- Denying Export-Import Bank guarantees, insurance, extension of credit, or participation in such an extension for export of any goods or services to the sanctioned person;
- Denying any specific license or other specific permission or authority required to export or reexport goods or technology to the sanctioned person;
- Taking “such actions as they deem appropriate” by the Federal Reserve’s chairman and the president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, including denying or terminating designation of the sanctioned person “as a primary dealer in U.S. government (USG) debt instruments”;
- Barring the sanctioned person from serving as a USG agent or a repository for USG funds;
- Barring agencies from procurement or contracting for procurement from the sanctioned person;
- Barring U.S. financial institutions from making loans or providing credits above $10 million in any 12-month period to the sanctioned person;
- Banning any foreign-exchange transactions under U.S. jurisdiction that involve the sanctioned person;
- Banning any credit transfers or payments involving the sanctioned person that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction;
- Freezing all property or property interests of the sanctioned person; and
- Restricting or banning direct or indirect imports of goods, services, or technology into the U.S. from the sanctioned person.
- 31 December 2011: Sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran are enacted in section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Specifically, “the sanctions target foreign financial institutions that conduct petroleum and non-petroleum transactions with Iran's central bank or other blacklisted Iranian financial entities.”
- “For non-petroleum transactions, from February 29 [2012] the law requires the president to punish private banks that ‘knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant financial transaction with the Central Bank of Iran’ or other blacklisted entities.”
- “For oil-related transactions, from June 28 [2012] the law allows the president to sanction foreign banks that carry out financial transactions ‘for the purchase of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran’ provided several conditions are met.”
- The law gives the president an explicit exemption under which he can choose not to apply sanctions if he determines that the country with primary jurisdiction over the bank has ‘significantly reduced’ its volume of crude oil purchases.
- “The law provides broad ‘waiver’ authority under which the president may waive sanctions for up to 120 days, and every 120 days thereafter, if he determines that it ‘is in the national security interest of the United States.’ If he does so, he must also submit a report to Congress ‘providing a justification for the waiver’ and describing any concrete cooperation he has received, or expects to receive, as a result of the waiver.”
- 23 May 2011: Executive Order 13574 (presently in force) is issued, authorizing the implementation of sections of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) by the Secretary of the Treasury, including by:
- Banning any U.S. bank from loaning money or providing credits to any ISA-sanctioned person;
- Banning any U.S. bank from conducting any foreign-exchange transactions involving any ISA-sanctioned person;
- Banning any credit transfers between banks or by, through, or to any bank, in which the U.S. has jurisdiction and which involve any ISA-sanctioned person;
- Freezing all property and property interests of any ISA-sanctioned person that come under U.S. jurisdiction; and
- Restricting or banning direct or indirect imports of goods, services, or technology into the U.S. from any ISA-sanctioned person.
- 28 September 2010: Executive Order 13553 (presently in force) is issued, “blocking property of certain persons with respect to serious human rights abuses by the government of Iran….” The order targets individuals within the IRGC, intelligence, and police communities. It marked the first time a U.S. president levied sanctions against Iran for human rights abuses.
- 1 July 2010: The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (CISADA) (presently in force) is enacted, instituting the toughest sanctions ever on Iran. The legislation makes it more difficult for Iran to procure “refined petroleum as well as the goods and services to modernize its oil and natural gas sector, the mainstay of its economy.” Among other provisions, the bill:
- Amends the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) to direct the President to impose three or more specified ISA sanctions if a person has made an investment of $20 million total or more in Iran’s petroleum industry, or has assisted Iranian oil production;
- Sanctions sales to Iran of refined petroleum and of services and equipment and services that could help Iran make or import gasoline.
- Codifies the U.S. trade ban instituted in Executive Order 12959;
- Authorizes state and local governments to adopt and enforce measures divesting assets from Iran;
- Authorizes the President to designate a given country as a “Destination of Diversion Concern” to prevent black-market proliferation networks and U.S.-origin technology from reaching Iranian end-users;
- Reinstates a complete ban on U.S. imports from Iran, including carpets, caviar, pistachios, and fruit products; and
- Requires the Director of National Intelligence to report to the President; the Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, State, Treasury; and Congress to identify countries that permit the diversion through the country of dual-use and banned goods and services to “Iranian end-users or Iranian intermediaries.”
- 6 November 2008: The U.S. Treasury Department revokes Iran’s “U-turn” license, (revocation presently in force), “further restricting Iran’s access to the U.S. financial system.”
- Prior to this action, “U.S. financial institutions were authorized to process certain funds transfers for the direct or indirect benefit of Iranian banks, other persons in Iran or the Government of Iran, provided such payments were initiated offshore by a non-Iranian, non-U.S. financial institution and only passed through the U.S. financial system en route to another offshore, non-Iranian, non-U.S. financial institution. As a result of today's action, U.S. financial institutions are no longer allowed to process these U-turn transfers.”
- “The Treasury Department previously designated Iranian state-owned banks Melli, Mellat, Sepah, Future Bank and the Export Development Bank of Iran for their roles in Iran's weapons proliferation activities, as well as Bank Saderat for providing support to terrorism. While these banks are already prohibited from taking advantage of the U-turn authorization, today's action ends this exception for all remaining Iranian banks, both state-owned and private, including the Central Bank of Iran.”
- 30 September 2006: The Iran Freedom Support Act (presently in force) is enacted, which, among other provisions:
- Codifies the prohibition on U.S. investment in Iran instituted by Executive Order 12959; and
- Sanctions firms or persons who sell Iran “chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons or related technologies” or “destabilizing numbers and types” of advanced conventional weapons.
- 19 August 1997: Executive Order 13059 (presently in force) is issued, banning American companies from knowingly exporting goods to another country to be incorporated into products whose ultimate destination is Iran.
- 5 August 1996: The Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) (presently in force) is enacted. It serves as the foundational Iran sanctions law. Iran sanctions legislation enacted afterward has usually included amendments to ISA. The law’s focus is sanctioning foreign companies who invest in, or provide goods or services for, Iran’s energy sector.
- 6 May 1995: Executive Order 12959 (presently in force) is issued, prohibiting U.S. trade with and investment in Iran.
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