The Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA)
Abstract
No firms have been sanctioned under the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA), and it has terminated with respect to Libya. Renewed in August 2001 for another five years (P.L. 107-24), ILSA is scheduled to expire in August 2006. In the 109th Congress, H.R. 282 (passed by the House on April 26, 2006) and S. 333 would extend it indefinitely and tighten some provisions. S. 2657 would extend ILSA, with no further modifications, for another five years. This report will be updated. See also CRS Report RL32048, Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses, by Kenneth Katzman. ILSA was introduced in the context of a tightening of U.S. sanctions on Iran during the first term of the Clinton Administration. In response to Iran s stepped up nuclear program and its support to terrorist organizations (Hizbollah, Hamas, and Palestine Islamic Jihad), President Clinton issued Executive Order 12957 (March 15, 1995), which banned U.S. investment in Iran s energy sector, and Executive Order 12959 (May 6, 1995), which banned U.S. trade with and investment in that country. The Clinton Administration and many in Congress maintained that these sanctions would deprive Iran of the ability to acquire weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and to fund terrorist groups by hindering its ability to modernize its key petroleum sector. That sector generates about 20% of Iran s GDP. Iran s onshore oil fields, as well as its oil industry infrastructure, were aging and needed substantial investment, and its large natural gas resources (940 trillion cubic feet, exceeded only by those of Russia) were not developed at all at the time ILSA was first considered.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 21, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA475551
Entities
People
- Kenneth Katzman
Organizations
- Library of Congress