US Issues New Iran Sanctions, Executive Order

The U.S. announced a range of new sanctions and restrictions against Iran, including an executive order, additions to the Commerce Department’s Entity List (see 2009210018) and new sanctions by the Treasury and State Department. The executive order, issued Sept. 21, targets Iran-related arms transfers, while the Treasury and State Department’s sanctions target a range of people and entities associated with Iranian nuclear and arms development.

The State Department called the new restrictions “sweeping,” saying they are designed to further limit Iran’s ability to evade U.S. sanctions and gather weapons and technology. The agency also issued a fact sheet detailing the new restrictions. “The U.S. and partner forces have repeatedly interdicted Iranian weapons en-route to the Houthis in the past year,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, saying Iran “continues to use its arsenal of conventional weapons to destabilize the Middle East.”

The White House said the executive order authorizes sanctions on people and companies involved in the “supply, sale, or transfer of conventional arms to or from Iran,” as well as those who provide “technical training, financial support and services, and other assistance related to these arms.” It also authorizes sanctions on people or companies that directly or indirectly “contribute” to the proliferation of arms to military end-users in Iran. The order will “greatly diminish” Iran’s ability to export and import arms, the White House said.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 13 entities and people involved in Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, including three deputy directors of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and a “number” of its subsidiaries,” OFAC said in a press release. The designations include the reimposition of sanctions against people whose designations were previously lifted and updates to the Specially Designated National List to revise identifying information. Among the designations are Mohammad Ghannadi Maragheh, AEOI’s deputy head of nuclear planning and strategic supervision; and Javad Karimi Sabet, AEOI’s deputy head and head of AEOI’s Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute.

The State Department sanctioned Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, Iran’s Defense Industries Organization and its director Mehrdad Akhlaghi-Ketabchi. The agency also sanctioned Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan leader, for “arms-related activities” under the new executive order. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also announced the imposition of snapback sanctions on Iran under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (see 2009210022). “These actions underscore that the United States will not hesitate to counter the Iranian nuclear, missile, and conventional arms threats,” Pompeo said.