Iran Sanctions
Abstract
U.S. sanctions have been a major feature of U.S. Iran policy since Irans 1979 Islamic revolution, but U.N. and worldwide bilateral sanctions on Iran are a relatively recent (post-2006) development. Many of the U.S. sanctions reinforce U.N. and multilateral sanctions put in place in recent years by European and some Asian countries. Successive Administrations have sought to ensure that U.S. sanctions do not hamper cooperation with key international partners whose support is needed to isolate Iran. The objectives of U.S. sanctions have evolved over time. In the mid-1980s, U.S. sanctions were intended to try to compel Iran to cease supporting acts of terrorism and to limit Iran's strategic power in the Middle East more generally. Since the mid-1990s, U.S. sanctions have focused increasingly on persuading or compelling Iran to limit the scope of its nuclear program to ensure purely civilian use. Since 2006, and particularly since 2010, the international community has joined U.S. sanctions in pursuit of that goal. This report analyzes U.S. and international sanctions against Iran and, in so doing, provides examples, based on a wide range of open source reporting, of companies and countries that conduct business with Iran. CRS has no way to independently corroborate any of the reporting on which these examples are based, and no mandate to assess whether any entity is complying with U.S. or international sanctions against Iran. The sections of the report are grouped according to functional theme, and presented in the chronological order in which these themes have emerged in U.S. sanctions policy toward Iran. It is so indicated if a certain sanctions provision is being suspended as a consequence of the Joint Plan of Action (JPA), the duration of which is from January 20, 2014 to July 20, 2014, unless extended by mutual agreement or replaced by a comprehensive agreement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 31, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA595629
Entities
People
- Kenneth Katzman
Organizations
- Library of Congress