Trade restrictions levied by the United States government
The United States imposed sanction of 1995 bans aviation companies from selling aircraft and repair parts to Iranian airlines. Iranian registered commercial airplanes (such as this Iran AirBoeing 747-100B for example) were also banned from entering U.S. airspace due to the sanctions.
On 17 May 2018, the European Commission announced its intention to implement the blocking statute of 1996 to declare United States sanctions against Iran null and void in Europe and ban European citizens and companies from complying with them. The EC also instructed the European Investment Bank to facilitate European companies' investment in Iran.[2][3][4]
United States President Ronald Reagan imposed an arms embargo in 1983 on Iran, including United States military spare parts to the military during the Iran–Iraq War (1981–1988).[7]
An embargo on Iranian goods and services was imposed in 1987 in response to Iran's actions from 1981 to 1987 against the United States and other vessels in the Persian Gulf and because of Iran's support for terrorism.[8]
Clinton presidency
United States President Bill Clinton imposed some of the toughest sanctions against Iran in March 1995, during the presidency of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in response to the Iranian nuclear program and Iranian support for Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestine Islamic Jihad, that are considered terrorist organizations by the United States under Executive Order12957, to prohibit the United States from trading in Iran's oil industry. In May 1995 Clinton also issued Executive Order12959 to prohibit the United States from trading with Iran. Trade with the United States, which had been growing since the end of the Iran–Iraq War, ended abruptly.
The Iran and Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) was signed into law on 5 August 1996 by President Clinton.[9] ISA (the renamed ILSA in 2006) targets both American and non-American businesses that make investments over $20 million in Iran for the development of petroleum resources in Iran. They face having imposed against them two out of seven possible penalties by the United States:[10]
denial of Export-Import Bank assistance,
denial of export licenses for exports to the violating company,
prohibition on loans or credits from United States financial institutions of over $10 million in any 12-month period,
prohibition on designation as a primary dealer for United States government debt instruments,
prohibition on serving as an agent of the United States or as a repository for U.S. government funds,
denial of United States government procurement opportunities (consistent with WTO obligations), and
a ban on all or some imports of the violating company.
ISA was extended several times under the presidency of George W. Bush,[9] and on December 1, 2016, it was extended under President Barack Obama, before vacating office, for a further ten years.[11]
Early Khatami government
After the election of Iranian reformist President Mohammad Khatami in 1997, President Clinton eased sanctions on Iran. In 2000 the sanctions for items such as pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, caviar and Persian rugs were reduced.
Bush presidency
In February 2004, during the final year of Khatami's presidency, the United States Department of the Treasury in the presidency of George W. Bush ruled against editing or publishing scientific manuscripts from Iran, and stated that the American scientists collaborating with Iranians could be prosecuted. As a consequence, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) temporarily stopped editing manuscripts from Iranian researchers and took steps to clarify the OFAC guidelines concerning its publishing and editing activities. In April 2004 IEEE received a response from OFAC which fully resolved that no licenses were needed for publishing works from Iran and that the entire IEEE publication process including peer review and editing was exempt from restrictions.[12] On the other hand, the American Institute of Physics (AIP), the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which publishes Science, refused to comply, saying that the prohibition on publishing goes against freedom of speech.[13]
In June 2005, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order13382 freezing the assets of individuals connected with Iran's nuclear program.[16] In June 2007, the U.S. state of Florida enacted a boycott on companies trading with Iran and Sudan, while New Jersey's state legislature was considering similar action.[17]
Iranian financial institutions are barred from directly accessing the U.S. financial system, but they are permitted to do so indirectly through banks in other countries. In September 2006, the United States government imposed sanctions on Bank Saderat Iran, barring it from dealing with U.S. financial institutions, even indirectly. The move was announced by Stuart Levey, the undersecretary for treasury, who accused the major state-owned bank in Iran of transferring funds for certain groups, including Hezbollah. Levey said that since 2001 a Hezbollah-controlled organization had received $50 million directly from Iran through Bank Saderat. He said the United States government will also persuade European banks and financial institutions not to deal with Iran.[18] As of November 2007, the following Iranian banks were prohibited from transferring money to or from United States banks:[19]
In other words, these banks were placed on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN List). The SDN List is a directory of entities and individuals who have been prohibited from accessing the U.S. financial system. Although difficult there are ways to carry out an OFAC SDN List removal.[20]
As of early 2008, the targeted banks, such as Bank Mellat, had been able to replace banking relationships with a few large sanction-compliant banks with relationships with a larger number of smaller non-compliant banks.[21] In 2008, the United States Department of the Treasury ordered Citigroup Inc. to freeze over $2 billion held for Iran in Citigroup accounts.[22][23]
For individuals and small businesses, these banking restrictions have created a large opportunity for the hawala market, which allows Iranians to transfer money to and from foreign countries using an underground unregulated exchange system.[24] In June 2010, in the case United States v. Banki, the use of the hawala method of currency transfer led to a criminal conviction against a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin. Banki was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison; however, on the sentencing guidelines, this type of offense could result in imprisonment of up to 20 years.[25]
The sanctions imposed on Iran at the beginning of 2012 "had persistent and significant effects on the Iranian economy. The cost reached its maximum of 19.1% of real gross domestic product 4 years after the application of the sanctions, and the economy has not fully recovered after their removal."[26]
The United States imposed additional financial sanctions against Iran, effective 1 July 2013. An administration official explained that according to the new Executive Order "significant transactions in the rial will expose anyone to sanctions," and predicted “it should cause banks and exchanges to dump their rial holdings.”[28] This took place as Iran's president-elect Hassan Rouhani was scheduled to take office on August 3, 2013.[29]
Sanctions against third parties
In 2014, U.S. authorities put a $5 million bounty on Chinese businessman Li Fangwei, whom they alleged to have been instrumental in evading sanctions against Iran's missile programs.[30]
In 2014, French bank BNP Paribas agreed to pay an $8.9 billion fine, the largest ever, for violating United States sanctions. Germany's Commerzbank, France's Credit Agricole and Swiss UBS have also been fined.[31] French President François Hollande said: "When the (European) Commission goes after Google or digital giants which do not pay the taxes they should in Europe, America takes offence. And yet, they quite shamelessly demand 8 billion from BNP or 5 billion from Deutsche Bank."[32]
In 2015, Germany's largest bank Deutsche Bank was fined $258 million for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, Libya and Syria.[33]
Iran nuclear deal
Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal), signed in July 2015, the United States agreed to cancel most of the U.S. sanctions against Iran, with some safeguard provisions, in return for limitations on Iran's nuclear program.
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on two UAE based aviation companies, Parthia Cargo and Delta Parts Supply, that violated U.S. sanctions on Iran's Mahan Air by providing them logistics services and supplying parts to the Iranian airline. Federal prosecutors also filed criminal charges against one of the companies under violation of United States export control regulations.[43]
Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act
The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) was enacted in August 2017 and imposed sanctions against Iran, as well as against Russia and North Korea.[44][45] CAATSA requires the President to impose sanctions against: (1) Iran's ballistic missile or weapons of mass destruction programs, (2) the sale or transfer to Iran of military equipment or the provision of related technical or financial assistance, and (3) Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated foreign persons.[46] The President may also impose sanctions against persons responsible for violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals in Iran,[46] and can waive the imposition or continuation of sanctions.[46][47][48]
These treasury and other arms of the government, both under Obama and Trump, have basically weakened the JCPOA extensively, which has kept a lot of the sanctions regime intact.[vague][50] In August 2018, the Trump administration reimposed sanctions and warned that anyone doing business with Iran will not be able to do business with the United States.[51][52] However, the United States will be granting waivers to certain countries. For example, Iraq was granted a waiver that would allow the country to continue purchasing gas, energy and food products from Iran on the condition that the purchases were not paid for in United States dollars.[53]
In 2018, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) "ordered" the United States government to revoke the sanctions on the basis of the 1955 United States-Iran "Friendship Treaty", that had been signed with the government that had been overthrown by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.[54] In response, the United States withdrew from two international agreements with Iran.[55]
In October 2018, Reuters reported that JPMorgan Chase bank had "agreed to pay $5.3 million to settle allegations it violated Cuban Assets Control Regulations, Iranian sanctions and Weapons of Mass Destruction sanctions 87 times, the United States Treasury said".[56]
British bank Standard Chartered faced a $1.5 billion fine by the U.S. agencies for violating Iran sanctions.[57]
In November 2018, the United States officially reinstated all sanctions against Iran that had been lifted before the United States withdrew from the JCPOA.[58][59]
In April 2019, the United States threatened to sanction countries continuing to buy oil from Iran after an initial six-month waiver announced in November expired.[60]
In June 2019, Trump imposed sanctions on Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei, his office and those closely affiliated with his access to key financial resources.[61][62]
On 31 July 2019, the United States placed sanctions on Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.[63]
In August 2018, Total S.A. officially withdrew from the Iranian South Pars gas field because of sanctions pressure from the United States,[64] leaving CNPC to take up their 50.1% stake in the natural gas field, of which it had already 30%.[65] It held this 80.1% share until it withdrew its investment in October 2019 due once again to the U.S. sanctions, according to Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh and the SHANA news agency.[65]
On 19 May 2020, the United States sanctions targeted Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited, a PRC-based company that provides general sales agent services for Mahan Air. The United States claimed that Iran used Mahan Air to carry gold of fuel sales of Venezuela.[66] Also, Iran denied the allegation.[67]
On 8 May 2019, according to article 36 of the JCPOA agreement, Iran was allowed to reply in case of non-compliance by other signatories. President Rouhani announced that Iran was acting in reply to "the European countries' failure" and held on to stockpiles of excess uranium and heavy water used in nuclear reactors.[70] Rouhani said that Iran gave a 60-day deadline to remaining signatories of the JCPOA to protect it from U.S. sanctions[71] and provide additional economic support.[72] Otherwise, at the end of that deadline, Iran would exceed the limits on its stockpile of enriched uranium.[73] In September 2019, as a third major step to scale down commitments to the 2015 nuclear accord, after another 60-day deadline, Iran nullified all limits on nuclear research and development.[74]
Sanctions against IRGC
On 25 October 2007, the United States designated the Quds Force, a part of IRGC, a terrorist organization under Executive Order 13224, for providing material support to U.S.-designated terrorist organizations, prohibiting transactions between the group and U.S. citizens, and freezing any assets under United States jurisdiction.[75]
On 18 May 2011, the United States imposed sanctions on Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, along with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and other senior Syrian officials, due to Soleimani's alleged involvement in providing material support to the Syrian government.[76] He was listed as a known terrorist, which forbade U.S. citizens from doing business with him.[77][78]
On 8 April 2019, the United States imposed economic and travel sanctions on the IRGC and organizations, companies and individuals affiliated with it.[79][80] Hossein Salami was one of the individuals listed.
On 15 April 2019, the United States designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization.[81] The designation is still in force.
On 21 April 2019, a few days before United States sanctions were due to take effect, Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed Hossein Salami as the new commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).[82][83]
On 7 June 2019, the United States imposed sanctions on some of the petroleum industry in Iran because they were owned by the IRGC.[84]
On 24 June 2019, the US imposed sanctions on eight senior commanders of the navy, aerospace and ground forces components of IRGC.[62]
In May 2020 the United States charged Iranian-Iraqi Amir Dianat and his Iranian business partner with money-laundering on behalf of the Quds Force and with violating sanctions.[85]
The Joe Biden administration levied the sanctions on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops officials on 1 June 2023, who were convicted for plotting assassination abroad, involving against John Bolton and Mike Pompeo. The sanctions targeted Mohammad Reza Ansari, an official with a unit of IRGC-Qods Force “tasked with undertaking covert operations abroad, including planning and conducting intelligence and lethal operations against Iranian dissidents and other non-Iranian nationals in the United States, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa”. The US sanctions will also affect Hossein Hafez Amini, a dual Iranian and Turkish national, for assisting the IRGC-QF's covert operations.[86]
In October 2019, the US imposed sanctions on some of the Iranian construction sector which is owned by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which it regards as a foreign terrorist organization. The US State Department also identified four “strategic materials” being used in connection with military, nuclear, or ballistic missile programs, making trade in them subject to sanctions. However, the department extended nuclear-cooperation waivers on Iran's civil nuclear program, renewing them for 90 days.[89]
On 4 November 2019, the United States imposed new sanctions on the core inner circle of advisers to the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The new sanctions included one of his sons, Mojtaba Khamenei, the newly appointed head of Iran's judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi, the supreme leader's chief of staff, Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, and others. The Trump administration also issued $20 million to a reward for information about a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran 12 years previously.[90]
In September 2020, the United States said that it imposed sanctions on Judge Seyyed Mahmoud Sadati, Judge Mohammad Soltani, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, and Adel Abad, Orumiyeh, and Vakilabad Prisons. Elliott Abrams said "the sanctions targeted a judge who sentenced Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari to death," who was convicted of murdering a security guard during the 2018 Iranian protests.[92]
Biden presidency
United States President Joe Biden said on February 8, 2021, that he would not lift economic sanctions against Iran until Iran complies with the terms of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal. Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei had previously said that Tehran would only return to compliance if the United States first lifted all economic sanctions.[93] On the other hand, Iran said that it would suspend the implementation of the Additional Protocol, if the other parties to the 2015 nuclear pact do not fulfill their obligations by February 21, 2021.[94]
On September 22, 2022, the United States Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against the Iran Morality Police as well as seven senior leaders of Iran's various security organizations, "for violence against protestors and the death of Mahsa Amini". These include Mohammad Rostami Cheshmeh Gachi, chief of Iran's Morality Police, and Kioumars Heidari, commander of the Iranian army's ground force, in addition to the Iranian Minister of Intelligence Esmail Khatib, Haj Ahmad Mirzaei, head of the Tehran division of the Morality Police, Salar Abnoush, deputy commander of the Basij militia, and two law enforcement commanders, Manouchehr Amanollahi and Qasem Rezaei of the LEF in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province of Iran. The sanctions would involve blocking any properties or interests in property within the jurisdiction of the US, and reporting them to the US Treasury. Penalties would be imposed on any parties that facilitate transactions or services to the sanctioned entities.[95][96][97]
In June 2023, the United States sanctioned a procurement network involving seven individuals and six entities in Iran and the People's Republic of China (PRC) for supporting the activities of the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, Parchin Chemical Industries, and P.B. Sadr as key actors in Iran's ballistic missile program.[98]
In May 2024 American officials have claimed that Iran uses Malaysian services to sell crude oil under US sanctions. In a meeting with Nelson, the U.S. Treasury under-secretary, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, government official in Malaysia said that we only recognize the sanctions of the United Nations, and the sanctions of the United States and any other country are not recognized by Malaysia.[99]
In September 2024, The United States imposed sanctions on 12 Iranian officials for human rights abuses.[100] The sanctions targeted members of Iran's security forces involved in suppressing protests, prison officials linked to torture and executions, and operatives involved in targeting dissidents abroad. The U.S. Treasury highlighted the ongoing repression and called out the Iranian regime’s systematic human rights violations, including abuses against peaceful protesters and political activists.[101]
Effects and criticism
Annual inflation of the Iranian rial. As of 2020, US economic sanctions have contributed to inflation and high unemployment rate alongside economic mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic.Changes in Iranian oil production in response to sanctions, 2011–2018
According to an Iranian journalist, the effects of sanctions in Iran include expensive basic goods and an aging and increasingly unsafe aircraft fleet. "According to reports from Iranian news agencies, 17 planes have crashed over the past 25 years, killing approximately 1,500 people."[103]
The United States forbids aircraft manufacturer Boeing to sell aircraft to Iranian aviation companies.[104] However, there are some authorizations for the export of civil aviation parts to Iran when those items are required for the safety of commercial aircraft.[105] An analysis by The Jerusalem Post found that a third of the 117 Iranian planes designated by the U.S. had experienced accidents or crashes.[106]
A 2005 report, presented at the 36th session of the International Civil Aviation Organization, reported that the U.S. sanctions had endangered the safety of civil aviation in Iran because it prevented Iran from acquiring parts and support essential for aviation safety. It also stated that the sanctions were contrary to article 44 of the Chicago Convention (to which the U.S. is a member). The ICAO report said aviation safety affects human lives and human rights, stands above political differences, and that the assembly should bring international public pressure on the United States to lift the sanctions against Iran.[107]
The European Union was critical of most of the U.S. trade sanctions against Iran. Some EU member states criticized ILSA as a "double standard" in U.S. foreign policy, in which the United States vigorously worked against the Arab League boycott of Israel while at the same time promoted a worldwide boycott of Iran. The EU member states threatened formal counter-action in the World Trade Organization.[108][109]
According to a study by Akbar E. Torbat, "overall, the sanctions' economic effect" on Iran "has been significant, while its political effect has been minimal."[110]
According to the United States National Foreign Trade Council, in the medium-term, lifting U.S. sanctions and liberalizing Iran's economic regime would increase Iran's total trade annually by as much as $61 billion (at the 2005 world oil price of $50/bbl), adding 32 percent to Iran's GDP. In the oil-and-gas sector, output and exports would expand by 25-to-50 percent (adding 3 percent to world crude oil production).
Iran could reduce the world price of crude petroleum by 10 percent, saving the United States annually between $38 billion (at the 2005 world oil price of $50/bbl) and $76 billion (at the proximate 2008 world oil price of $100/bbl). Opening Iran’s market place to foreign investment could also be a boon to competitive US multinational firms operating in a variety of manufacturing and service sectors.[111]
In 2009, there was discussion in the United States of implementing "crippling sanctions" against Iran, such as the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009, "if diplomatic overture did not show signs of success by the autumn". Professor Hamid Dabashi, of Columbia University, said in August 2009 that this was likely to bring "catastrophic humanitarian consequences", while enriching and strengthening the "security and military apparatus" of "the Pasdaran and the Basij," and having absolutely no support from "any major or even minor opposition leader" in Iran.[112] According to Bloomberg News, Boeing and Exxon have said that new Iran sanctions would cost $25 billion in U.S. exports.[113]
It has also been argued the sanctions have had the counter effect of protecting Iran in some ways, for example the 2007 imposition of U.S. sanctions against Iranian financial institutions to a high degree made Iran immune to the Great Recession.[114] Iranian officials argued that the sanctions created new business opportunities for Iranian companies to develop in order to fill the gap left by foreign contractors.[115][116] According to U.S. officials, Iran may lose up to $60 billion in energy investments due to global sanctions.[117]
On 18 January 2012 Russian Foreign MinisterSergey Lavrov warned that sanctions are aimed at strangling the economy of Iran and would create much discontent toward Western nations, and potentially provoke a negative recourse.[118]
On 13 August 2018 Iran Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that "mismanagement" harmed Iran more than U.S. sanctions did. "More than the sanctions, economic mismanagement (by the government) is putting pressure on ordinary Iranians ... I do not call it betrayal but a huge mistake in management," Khamenei was quoted as saying.[119]
On 22 August 2018, United Nations Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy described the sanctions against Iran as "unjust and harmful". "The reimposition of sanctions against Iran after the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear deal, which had been unanimously adopted by the Security Council with the support of the United States itself, lays bare the illegitimacy of this action," said Jazairy. According to Jazairy, "chilling effect" caused by the "ambiguity" of recently reimposed sanctions, would lead to "silent deaths in hospitals".[120]
According to Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, United States sanctions against Iran are affecting neighboring Pakistan. He stated that "The last thing the Muslim World needs is another conflict. The Trump administration is moving towards that direction."[121]
On 5 May 2019, White House announced the United States has stationed an aircraft carrier strike group and Air Force bombers to the Middle East for “troubling and escalatory signs and warnings” connected to Iran.[122]Mr. Bolton said the purpose of the action is sending a message to the Iranian regime that any attack on U.S. interests or on those of our allies by Iran will be faced with our unremitting response.[123] Also, he declared in the statement, we are not looking for war with Iran but ready to repel to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps or regular Iranian forces.[122]
On 19 May 2019, Trump threatened Iran and said in his Twitter post "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!"[124]
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!
According to a 2019 AlJazeera report, some tech companies like as GitHub, Google and Apple and Microsoft began limiting users linked to Iran, and several other countries under U.S. sanctions, access to its services.[126]
On 27 September 2019, Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan said that it is "impossible" for his country to stop buying oil and natural gas from Iran, despite U.S. sanctions against the latter.[127] Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif repeatedly condemned the American sanctions against Iran as "economic terrorism."[128]
In June 2022, Iran claimed that despite changes imposed on by the continuance of U.S. sanctions, oil sales have remained at relatively high levels. According to figures from the petroleum ministry, Iran is currently exporting more than a million barrels of crude oil and gas condensate daily.[129]
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, health workers and sanctions experts said U.S. sanctions, including financial sanctions and lost oil revenues, were preventing the import of medicine and medical supplies including raw materials and equipment needed to manufacture medicines domestically.[130]
The United States has ostensibly exempted humanitarian items from sanctions, but in practice the prohibition against business with Iranian banks and the reduction in issuance of certain medical export licenses by the United States Treasury Department enforcement agency have caused difficulties in Iran. For example, Iran faces a critical shortage of spare parts that are needed to repair dual-use equipment used to produce medicine. Sanctions have also prevented Iran from procuring active ingredients necessary to manufacture locally produced medicine to treat asthma, cancer, and multiple sclerosis.[131]
In December 2020, according to the central bank chief of Iran, Iran could not pay for a COVID-19 vaccine because of U.S. sanctions against Iranian banks. In March 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic, the United States blocked Iran's request for an emergency $5 billion IMF loan.[132]
After the United States withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, many banks and businesses worldwide, including pharmaceutical and medical companies, decided not to conduct any business with Iran due to U.S. sanctions.[133]
Impact on overseas students
As of December 2018, United States sanctions were reportedly affecting hundreds of Iranian university students in the United Kingdom, preventing them from being able to readily pay their tuition fees and forcing them to choose between abandoning their studies or using dangerous means to transfer funds.[134]
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the United States Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives. Under presidential national emergency powers, OFAC carries out its activities against foreign governments, organizations, and individuals deemed a threat to U.S. national security.
Iran and the United States have had no formal diplomatic relations since 7 April 1980. Instead, Pakistan serves as Iran's protecting power in the United States, while Switzerland serves as the United States' protecting power in Iran. Contacts are carried out through the Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the US Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. In August 2018, Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei banned direct talks with the United States.
Economic sanctions or embargoes are commercial and financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Economic sanctions are a form of coercion that attempts to get an actor to change its behavior through disruption in economic exchange. Sanctions can be intended to compel or deterrence.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution. Whereas the Iranian Army protects the country's sovereignty in a traditional capacity, the IRGC's constitutional mandate is to ensure the integrity of the Islamic Republic. Most interpretations of this mandate assert that it entrusts the IRGC with preventing foreign interference in Iran, thwarting coups by the traditional military, and crushing "deviant movements" that harm the ideological legacy of the Islamic Revolution. Currently, the IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization by Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the United States.
United States sanctions are financial and trade restrictions imposed against individuals, entities, and jurisdictions whose actions contradict U.S. foreign policy or national security goals. Financial sanctions are primarily administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), while export controls are primarily administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).
The United Arab Emirates has quite a close and friendly relationship with the US, being described as the United States' best counter-terrorism ally in the Gulf by Richard A. Clarke, the U.S. national security advisor and counter-terrorism expert. In terms of defense, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces has been nicknamed "Little Sparta" by United States Armed Forces generals and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis for its active role against extremists in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates also hosts the only United States border preclearance in the Middle East. Both countries are members of the I2U2 Group, which was established in 2021.
There have been a number of international sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia, following Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.
European Union–Iran relations are the bilateral relations between Iran and the European Union (EU). The EU is Iran's largest trading partner, along with China and the United Arab Emirates. Trade with Iran is subject to the general EU import regime and the EU supports the goal of Iranian accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The EU has accused and criticized Iran for human rights violations, which led to diplomatic tensions, but both sides aim at improving and normalizing relations. Should Turkey's accession to the EU take place, Iran will border the European Union.
The Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO), also known as the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Directive or simply Setad, is a parastatal organization in the Islamic Republic of Iran, under direct control of the Supreme Leader of Iran. It was created from thousands of properties confiscated in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. A Reuters investigation found that the organization built "its empire on the systematic seizure of thousands of properties belonging to ordinary Iranians", also seizing property from members of religious minorities, business people and Iranians living abroad; at times falsely claiming that the properties were abandoned.
A number of countries and international bodies have imposed international sanctions against North Korea. Currently, many sanctions are concerned with North Korea's nuclear weapons programme and were imposed after its first nuclear test in 2006.
The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) is a United States federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill was passed by the Senate on July 27, 2017, 98–2, after it passed the House 419–3. It was signed into law on August 2, 2017, by President Donald Trump, who nevertheless believed that the legislation was "seriously flawed".
The United States announced its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the "Iran nuclear deal" or the "Iran deal", on May 8, 2018. The JCPOA is an agreement on Iran's nuclear program reached in July 2015 by Iran and the P5+1 also called E3/EU+3.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program reached in Vienna on 14 July 2015 between Iran, the P5+1, and the European Union.
During the crisis in Venezuela, the United States applied sanctions against specific Venezuelan government entities and individuals associated with the administration of Nicolás Maduro, along with sanctions applied by the European Union (E.U.), Canada, Mexico, Panama and Switzerland. By September 2019, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said 119 Venezuelans had been sanctioned by the U.S. and several other countries.
On June 20, 2019, Iran's integrated system of Air Defense Forces shot down a United States RQ-4A Global Hawk BAMS-D surveillance drone with a surface-to-air missile over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran and the U.S. differ on where the incident actually occurred. Iranian officials said that the drone violated their airspace, while U.S. officials responded that the drone was in international airspace.
Mohammad Mokhber is an Iranian politician. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council since September 2022 and also advisor and aide to the Supreme Leader of Iran since September 2024.
Esmail Qaani is an Iranian brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and commander of its Quds Force, a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial operations. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, appointed Qaani to succeed Qasem Soleimani as Commander of the Quds Force.
The United States government applies economic sanctions against certain institutions and key members of the Chinese government and its ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), certain companies linked to the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and other affiliates that the U.S. government has accused of aiding in human rights abuses. The U.S. maintained embargoes against China from the inception of the People's Republic of China in 1949 until 1972. An embargo was reimposed by the U.S. following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. From 2020 onward, the U.S. imposed sanctions and visa restrictions against several Chinese government officials and companies, in response to the persecution of Uyghurs in China, human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Tibet, military-civil fusion, support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and fentanyl production.
Maximum pressure campaign refers to the intensified sanctions against Iran by the Trump administration after the United States exited the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018. The campaign was aimed at pressuring Iran to renegotiate the JCPOA, adding more restrictions on Iran's nuclear program and expanding the scope of the agreement to cover Iran's ballistic missiles as well as other regional activities. This strategy was faced by Iran's counter pressure policy to thwart the U.S. maximum pressure campaign.
During the crisis in Venezuela, the United States applied sanctions against specific Venezuelan government entities and individuals associated with the administration of Nicolás Maduro, along with sanctions applied by the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Panama and Switzerland. Through April 2019, the U.S. sanctioned more than 150 companies, vessels and individuals, in addition to revoking visas of 718 individuals.
↑ John B. Reynolds, III, Amy E. Worlton and Cari N. Stinebower, "U.S. Dollar Transactions with Iran are Subject to New Restrictions – Tough Policy Decisions Face International Financial Institutions", Wiley Rein LLP, 28 November 2007
↑ "US ordered to halt 'humanitarian' Iran sanctions in blow for Donald Trump". The Week. Agence France Presse. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018. Judges in The Hague unanimously ruled that the sanctions on some goods breached a 1955 "friendship treaty" between Iran and the US that predates Iran's Islamic Revolution.
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