On May 27, 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States was ending the sanctions waiver pertaining to the remaining nuclear projects in Iran covered by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the Arak reactor modernization conversion, the provision of enriched uranium for the Tehran Research Reactor, and the export
Iran
U.S. Departments of State and Treasury and U.S. Coast Guard Issue Advisory Addressing Illicit Shipping and Sanctions Evasion Practices
On May 14, 2020, the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury and the U.S. Coast Guard issued a global advisory to alert the maritime industry and those active in the energy and metals sectors to deceptive shipping practices used to evade U.S. economic sanctions. It is intended to provide exporters, shippers and others utilizing the…
OFAC Issues Fact Sheet on Providing Humanitarian Aid to Combat COVID-19 Under Various Sanctions Programs
On April 16, 2020, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a fact sheet noting that the sanctions programs it administers generally allow for legitimate humanitarian-related trade, assistance or activity under existing laws and regulations. The fact sheet provides consolidated guidance highlighting the most relevant exemptions, exceptions and authorizations for…
OFAC Sanctions 20 Iran- and Iraq-Based Front Companies Supporting Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Qods Force
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated 20 Iran- and Iraq-based front companies, senior officials, and business associates for providing support to, or acting on behalf of, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and for transferring lethal aid to Iranian-backed terrorist militias in Iraq such as Kata’ib Hizballah…
OFAC Sanctions Companies for Facilitating Iran’s Petroleum Sales; BIS Places Iranian Entities on Entity List
In its continuing effort to tighten economic sanctions on Iran, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned five United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based companies that facilitate the Iranian regime’s petroleum and petrochemical sales. According to OFAC, these companies in 2019 “collectively purchased hundreds of thousands of metric tons of petroleum…
President Trump Further Tightens Iranian Sanctions by Targeting Steel, Aluminum, Copper and Iron Manufacturers and Designating Additional Senior Iranian Officials
On January 10, 2020, President Donald Trump issued “Executive Order on Imposing Sanctions with Respect to Additional Sectors of Iran,” implementing further sanctions on Iran and blocking the assets and property of additional senior Iranian government officials. The executive order authorizes economic sanctions on entities operating in the construction, mining, manufacturing or textiles sectors of…
On Anniversary of 1979 U.S. Embassy Hostage Crisis, U.S. Government Implements Additional Sanctions on Iran
On the 40th anniversary of the Iranian takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the hostage-taking of more than 50 U.S. diplomats and officials, the United States announced November 4, 2019, a further tightening of sanctions on Iran. In its statement supporting these sanctions, the White House explained, “The Iranian regime continues to…
OFAC Announces New Method for Permissible Humanitarian Trade with Iran
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced a new “humanitarian mechanism” to ensure transparency in humanitarian trade with Iran. According to OFAC, this mechanism “will help the international community perform enhanced due diligence on humanitarian trade to ensure that funds associated with permissible trade in support of the Iranian…
Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Issues Final Rule Concerning Iran Money Laundering Concerns
The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a long-awaited final rule prohibiting the opening or maintaining of correspondent accounts in the United States for, or on behalf of, Iranian financial institutions, and the use of foreign financial institutions’ correspondent accounts at covered U.S. financial institutions to process transactions involving Iranian…
OFAC Issues Additional Economic Sanctions Targeting Iran, Russia and Venezuela
In September, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) continued to tighten its sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, and addressed a sanctions-evading scheme for Syria involving several Russian entities.
- Iran: On September 20, 2019, OFAC announced that it was designating the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), the National Development
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