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1 1 (July 20, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govemgl0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Sen informing the legisi itive debate since 1914 U.S. Sanctions on Iran Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the United States has used sanctions of various types as key tools of U.S. policy toward the government of Iran. The U.S. government uses sanctions to deter, constrain, and encourage change in the adversarial behavior of the Iranian regime, including its support for international terrorism, nuclear and missile development programs and proliferation activities, destabilizing regional interventions, and human rights abuses. Congress has played a leading role in shaping U.S. policy, enacting legislation to authorize and oversee successive Administrations' implementation of Iran-related sanctions. U.S. sanctions have adversely affected Iran's economy but Iranian government behavior remains a threat to U.S. interests and those of partners including Israel. U.S. sanctions target persons (i.e., entities and individuals) inside or outside Iran whose actions benefit Iran's decisionmakers. Primary sanctions seek to restrict transactions that U.S. persons conduct with certain Iranian persons, prescribing civil and criminal penalties for U.S. persons who violate or evade those restrictions. Secondary sanctions seek to restrict transactions that non-U.S. persons conduct with certain Iranian persons, proscribing penalties such as blocking U.S.-based assets, prohibiting transactions with U.S. persons, limiting use of U.S. financial instruments, denying entry into the United States, and prosecuting sanctions violations and evasions. U.S. sanctions on Iran are arguably the most extensive and comprehensive set of sanctions that the United States maintains on any country. Thousands of persons (Iranian and non-Iranian) have been designated for sanctions related to Iran. Reflecting the complex legal framework of U.S. sanctions on Iran, many persons have been designated under multiple authorities; designation under multiple authorities generally does not confer additional restrictions but may affect how sanctions may be lifted. Background The 1979 overthrow of the Shah (Iran's former ruler and a staunch U.S. ally) and establishment of the Islamic Republic initiated decades of animosity between the United States and Iran. Initially imposed to press for the release of U.S. Embassy staff taken as hostages in 1979, U.S. sanctions in the 1980s and 1990s evolved with the intention of compelling Iran to cease its support of acts of international terrorism (including its backing of militants linked to the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and Multinational Force barracks in Beirut) and its pursuit of chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons capabilities or advanced conventional weapons. After the public revelation in 2002 of previously undisclosed nuclear facilities in Iran, the United States and allies incorporated sanctions into July 20, 2023 efforts to persuade Iran to agree to limit its nuclear activities. The U.N. Security Council, concerned about Iran's nuclear program, launched multinational sanctions in mid-2006, requiring member states to prevent trade with Iran in goods, services, and technology. Congressional action has been critical in the development and expansion of U.S. sanctions on Iran. Congress authorized sanctions targeting Iran's proliferation activities beginning in 1992 and, in 1996, enacted landmark legislation mandating the first secondary sanctions on Iran on foreign firms involved in the development of Iran's oil resources (Iran has the world's third largest proven oil reserves). After the Iranian government's violent crackdown on mass protests over its disputed 2009 presidential election, Congress authorized sanctions on officials responsible for the crackdown and other human rights abuses. As international concern about Iran's nuclear program increased, Congress, beginning in 2010, increased the scope of U.S. sanctions, targeting Iran's oil exports and other economic sectors in a bid to deny the Iranian government financial resources and compel it to make policy changes. In enacting these authorities, Congress mandated that to waive or lift sanctions, the President must certify that Iran is meeting certain conditions, including that the Iranian government has ceased its support of international terrorism and its proliferation activities. joint Com prehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Many experts attribute Iran's decision to enter into the 2015 multilateral agreement known as the JCPOA to the negative impact of sanctions on Iran's economy. As part of the JCPOA, Iran limited its nuclear activities and subjected them to additional international inspections and monitoring in return for relief from many U.S. and international economic sanctions. To implement the United States' commitments under the JCPOA, the Obama Administration revoked sanctions-related executive orders and exercised the authority to waive or lift sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program which the United States had imposed pursuant to various statutes. U.S. sanctions related to Iran's continued support for international terrorism, human rights abuses, and missile development remained in place. Opponents of the JCPOA questioned Iran's trustworthiness and criticized the agreement for not addressing those activities; Obama Administration officials argued that dealing with those Iranian activities would be easier in the absence of an Iranian nuclear threat. In 2018, citing the limited duration of certain JCPOA restrictions and Iran's continued malign activities, the Trump Administration ceased U.S. participation in the JCPOA and reimposed all U.S. sanctions that had been eased pursuant to the JCPOA. These and other new

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