Iran Sanctions
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Iran Sanctions Kenneth Katzman Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs December 4, 2013 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RS20871 Iran Sanctions Summary Strict sanctions on Iran—sanctions that primarily target Iran’s key energy sector and its access to the international financial system—harmed Iran’s economy to the point where Iran’s leaders, on November 24, 2013, accepted international proposals to at least temporarily halt further expansion of Iran’s nuclear program. The June 14, 2013, election of Hassan Rouhani as Iran’s president was an indication of the growing public pressure on the regime to achieve an easing of sanctions. • Oil exports fund nearly half of Iran’s government expenditures, and Iran’s oil exports have declined to about 1 million barrels per day—far below the 2.5 million barrels per day Iran exported during 2011. The causes of the drop have been a European Union embargo on purchases of Iranian oil and decisions by other Iranian oil customers to obtain exemptions from U.S. sanctions by reducing purchases of Iranian oil. Twenty countries that buy Iranian oil have exemptions. • The loss of revenues from oil, coupled with the cut-off of Iran from the international banking system, caused a sharp drop in the value of Iran’s currency, the rial; raised inflation to over 50%; and reduced Iran’s accumulation of and access to reserves of foreign exchange. Iran’s economy shrank by about 5% since early 2012. • Iran has tried, with limited success, to mitigate the effects of sanctions. Government-linked entities reportedly created front companies, and Iranian importers and exporters increasingly used barter trade and informal banking exchange mechanisms. Iran also increased non-oil exports or exports of hydrocarbon products other than crude oil, such as gas condensates. Affluent Iranians have invested in—and driven up prices for—real estate and securities listed on the Tehran stock exchange. Sanctions also slowed Iran’s nuclear and missile programs somewhat by hampering Iran’s ability to obtain needed foreign technology. But U.S. assessments indicate that sanctions have not stopped Iran from developing new conventional weaponry indigenously. Based largely on its provision of arms to the embattled Assad government in Syria, Iran is also judged as not complying with U.N. requirements that it halt any weapons shipments outside its borders. And sanctions do not appear to have altered Iran’s repression of dissent or monitoring of the Internet. To some experts, the November 24, 2013, nuclear deal with the international community validated the strategy of sanctioning Iran. Some in Congress believe that economic pressure on Iran needs to increase further to shape a final nuclear deal and to ensure that the sanctions relief of the interim nuclear deal does not lead to a general unraveling of Iran sanctions. A bill in the 113th Congress, H.R. 850, passed by the House on July 31, 2013, would, among other provisions, accelerate the oil purchase reductions required to maintain a sanctions exemption. However, the Administration maintains that the sanctions relief contained in the November 24 nuclear deal is “limited, temporary, modest, and reversible”—about $6 billion in relief over the six month interim deal period. All major sanctions will remain in place during the interim agreement period, and applicable provisions will be waived or suspended only temporarily. The Administration argues that new sanctions would unravel the agreement and cause U.S. partners to potentially end the cooperation that has been key to the sanctions’ effectiveness. For a broader analysis of policy on Iran, see CRS Report RL32048, Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses, by Kenneth Katzman. Congressional Research Service Iran Sanctions Congressional Research Service Iran Sanctions Contents Overview and Objectives ................................................................................................................. 1 Blocked Iranian Property and Assets ............................................................................................... 1 Sanctions Against Iran’s Support for International Terrorism and Regional Activities ................... 2 Sanctions Triggered by Terrorism List Designation: Ban on U.S. Aid, Arms Sales, Dual-Use Exports, and Certain Programs for Iran ................................................................. 2 No Ban on U.S. Humanitarian Aid ...................................................................................... 3 Executive Order 13224: Sanctioning Terrorism Supporting Entities ........................................ 4 Sanctioning Iranian Involvement in the Region ........................................................................ 4 Ban on U.S. Trade and Investment with Iran ................................................................................... 4 Major Provisions of the Trade and Investment Ban: What Is Allowed or Prohibited ............... 5 Non-application to Refined Oil with Iranian Content ......................................................... 8 Application to Foreign Subsidiaries of U.S. Firms ............................................................. 8 Energy and Other Sector Sanctions: Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) and Related Laws and Executive Orders .......................................................................................................................... 8 The Iran Sanctions Act, Amendments, and Related Applications ............................................. 9 Key “Triggers” .................................................................................................................... 9 Mandate and Time Frame to Investigate ISA Violations ................................................... 14 Clarification of Responsibilities: Executive Order 13574................................................. 15 Interpretations and Administration of ISA and Related Laws ................................................. 17 Application to Energy Pipelines ........................................................................................ 17 Application to Crude Oil Purchases .................................................................................. 17 Application to Natural Gas Purchases from Iran/Shah Deniz ........................................... 17 Application to Liquefied Natural Gas Development ......................................................... 18 Application to Financing but Not Official Credit Guarantee Agencies ............................. 18 Application to Iranian Energy Institutions/NIOC and NITC ............................................ 18 Sanctions Imposed Under ISA ................................................................................................ 19 Sanctions on Oil and Other Payments to Iran’s Central Bank ................................................. 20 Implementation: Exemptions Issued ................................................................................. 22 Sanctions on Paying Iran with Hard Currency .................................................................. 23 Proliferation-Related Sanctions ..................................................................................................... 23 Iran-Iraq Arms Nonproliferation Act and Iraq Sanctions Act .................................................. 24 Iran-North Korea-Syria Nonproliferation Act ......................................................................... 24 Executive Order 13382 ............................................................................................................ 25 Foreign Aid Restrictions for Suppliers of Iran ........................................................................ 25 Sanctions on “Countries of Diversion Concern” ..................................................................... 25 Financial/Banking Sanctions ......................................................................................................... 27 Early Efforts: Targeted Financial Measures ............................................................................ 27 Sanctioning Foreign Banks That Conduct Transactions with Iran .......................................... 27 Implementation of Section 104: Sanctions Imposed ......................................................... 28 Iran Designated a Money-Laundering Jurisdiction ................................................................. 28 Executive Order 13599 Impounding Iranian Assets ................................................................ 29 Promoting Divestment ................................................................................................................... 29 Laws Supporting Democratic Change in Iran ................................................................................ 29 Expanding Internet and Communications Freedoms ............................................................... 30 Congressional Research Service Iran Sanctions Sanctions on Firms that Sell Censorship Gear to the Regime ........................................... 30 Sanctions Against Iran’s Internet Censorship .................................................................... 31 Measures to Sanction Human Rights Abuses and Promote the Opposition ............................ 31 Sanctions Against Iranian Human Rights Abusers and Related Equipment ..................... 31 Iranian Broadcasting and Profiteers .................................................................................. 32 Separate Visa Ban 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