In response to Iran’s illicit nuclear activities, support for terrorism, and abuse of human rights, the United States and other countries have imposed sanctions. Acting both through the United Nations Security Council, and regional or national authorities, a coalition that includes the United States, the member states of the European Union, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Canada, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, and others have put in place a strong, inter-locking matrix of sanctions measures relating to Iran's nuclear, missile, energy, shipping, transportation, and financial sectors.
These measures are designed: (1) to block the transfer of weapons, components, technology, and dual-use items to Iran’s prohibited nuclear and missile programs, (2) to target select sectors of the Iranian economy relevant to its proliferation activities, and (3) to induce Iran to engage constructively, through discussions with the United States, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Russia in the “E3+3 process,” to return to compliance with its non-proliferation obligations. These nations have made clear that Iran’s return to compliance with its international obligations would open the door to its receiving treatment as a normal non-nuclear-weapon state under The Non-proliferation Treaty and sanctions being lifted.
The United States has imposed restrictions on activities with Iran under various legal authorities since 1979, following the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The most recent statute, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act (CISADA), added new measures and procedures to the 1996 Iran Sanctions Act (ISA). The CISADA was enacted July 1, 2010, soon after the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1929, the fourth U.N. resolution imposing binding legal obligations and sanctions on Iran.
The ISA, as amended by CISADA, authorizes sanctions on businesses or individuals engaging in certain transactions related to Iran’s energy sector and Iranian weapons of mass destruction and advanced conventional weapons. The ISA provides for possible exemption of persons from investigations and sanction if the businesses or individuals qualify under the “Special Rule” by providing adequate assurances that they will expeditiously terminate activities that might otherwise be sanctionable. The CISADA also contains sections responding to financial transactions for certain designated Iranian financial institutions and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iranian human rights violations, the diversion of certain military equipment and technology, and the export of sensitive technology to Iran.
The State Department is the agency primarily responsible for implementing the provisions of ISA and CISADA which relate to the energy, shipping, and transportation sectors, to the export of sensitive telecommunications technology, and to non-proliferation and human rights issues.
The Department of the Treasury has primary responsibility for implementing the financial sanctions contained in the CISADA.
Apart from the ISA and CISADA, the Department of the Treasury also acts under Presidential national emergency powers, as well as authority granted by specific legislation, to impose controls on transactions and freeze assets under U.S. jurisdiction related to Iran. Many of the sanctions are based on United Nations and other international mandates, are multilateral in scope, and involve close cooperation with allied governments. More»
Pursuant to the CISADA, the Secretary of the Treasury has prescribed regulations to prohibit or restrict the correspondent and payable-through accounts of foreign financial institutions that facilitate significant financial transactions for certain designated actors related to Iran’s proliferation or terrorism activities, including the IRGC.
U.S. law also prohibits the export of most goods and services to Iran and transactions involving U.S. persons or property subject to U.S. jurisdiction with certain designated individuals and entities. The United States also places restrictions on exports and re-exports from the United States to certain destinations and end-users. Those restrictions are administered by several U.S. Government agencies. More»
Since the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported Iran’s noncompliance to the UN Security Council in 2006, the UN Security Council has adopted a Presidential Statement (2006) and six resolutions dealing with concerns about Iran. Four resolutions impose Chapter VII, legally binding, sanctions on Iran: Resolution 1737 (2006), Resolution 1747 (2007), Resolution 1803 (2008), and Resolution 1929 (2010). List of all UN Security Council resolutions on Iran»
