About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (January 8, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/govcgyy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: , . ' ,iE S .r , i , Possible Additional Sanctions on Iran January 8, 2018 For nearly four decades, U.S. sanctions have constituted a key component of U.S. policy toward Iran. U.S. secondary sanctions on foreign firms that conduct transactions with Iran have been a significant feature of those sanctions since 1996. The July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) resulted in a broad easing of multilateral sanctions and U.S. secondary sanctions on Iran's core economic sectors. Language in the JCPOA's preamble, as well as in Paragraph 26 of the document, commits the United States and other parties to the JCPOA to refrain from imposing new nuclear-related sanctions similar to those that have been lifted, or re-imposing sanctions lifted to implement the JCPOA. Nuclear-related sanctions are widely interpreted to mean sanctions on Iran's core economic sectors (banking, energy, shipping, insurance, auto production, and other manufacturing), because the U.N. Security Council, in Resolution 1929 (June 2010), authorized member states to impose sanctions on those sectors in order to compel Iran to negotiate limitations on its nuclear program. To the extent that the possible sanctions discussed below target Iran's core economic sectors, other parties to the JCPOA could view many of them as imposing new nuclear-related sanctions on Iran. Sanctions tied to other issues, such as human rights or Iran's sponsorship of terrorist groups, have not targeted Iran's core civilian economic sectors and remain in force not only by the United States but by the European Union (EU) and other powers as well, although the effect these remaining sanctions have on Iranian behavior is widely assessed as limited. The existing or suspended sanctions discussed in this report are analyzed in substantially more depth in CRS Report RS20871, Iran Sanctions, by Kenneth Katzman. Even before Iran accepted modest curbs on its nuclear program in a 2013 interim nuclear accord (Joint Plan of Action, JPOA), the sanctions options discussed below did not receive broad international support and were not implemented. U.S. partners and other stakeholders are unlikely to impose many or all of the sanctions discussed below unless Iran is seen to have abrogated the JCPOA. The potential sanctions are materially different from - and many are more extensive than - those sanctions imposed on Iran from 2010-2016 and which were eased in the course of implementing the JCPOA. The imposition of such new sanctions would presumably have increased effect if they are enshrined in a U.N. Security Council resolution that would require member states to undertake such measures. Absent Security Council action, the United States could impose secondary sanctions aimed at compelling foreign entities to take the specified actions against Iran. However, U.S. attempts to compel action through secondary sanctions would likely complicate U.S. relations with the parent governments of foreign firms and entities. Some of the U.N. Security Council resolutions that were in effect before the JCPOA was implemented in January 2016 and were superseded by U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 -called on, but did not require, member states to undertake voluntary measures, such as exercising restraint on providing loans and other credits to Iran. Some of the possible additional Iran sanctions discussed below would make such measures binding. SAdd~tknad S'snct~on§ Sanctioning Iranian Profiteers and Human Rights Abusers. Some experts believe that the international community, or even the United States alone, should more aggressively target Iranians who are exploiting any special privileges, monopolies, or political contacts for economic gain at the expense of average Iranians. In the context of the deaths of 21 persons during December 2017-January 2018 protests in Iran, Trump Administration officials have indicated they would back additional sanctions on Iranian human rights abusers and on foreign firms that help the Iranian government suppress social media and other communication outlets. There are already extensive U.S. and EU sanctions in place against Iranian human rights abusers. The most recent enacted, the Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act, signed on August 2, 2017 (P.L. 115-44) authorizes, but does not require, U.S. sanctions on persons responsible for gross violations of human rights in Iran. A provision of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act (Title XII, subtitle D, of the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act, P.L. 112-239) imposes U.S. sanctions on persons determined to have engaged in corruption or diverted or misappropriated humanitarian goods or funds. Other countries, however, generally have not imposed any sanctions on Iran for corruption or profiteering. In addition, provisions of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (title XII, subtitle F of the FY2017 NDAA, P.L. 114-328) could be applied to named Iranian human rights abusers and corrupt government officials. Sanctioning All Trade with Iran. Some organizations, such as United against Nuclear Iran, as well as other experts, advocate restrictions on most trade and investment with Iran and continue to try to persuade firms not to do business with Iran. U.S. partners and many other countries have consistently opposed a global Iran trade ban or any U.S. measures that would try to compel firms from allied countries to end most general commerce with Iran. Comprehensive Ban on Energy Transactions with Iran. Though short of a comprehensive global trade ban, a U.N.- mandated, worldwide embargo on the purchase of any Iranian crude oil would undoubtedly put significant K~:> mppm qq\ p\w gn'a', ggmm M 'M I 11\111WILiM,

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most