As we all know by now new legislation has been enacted to strengthen U.S. economic sanctions against Iran. However, what does that mean for the average Iranian-American and Iranian-American small business owners? These are the questions I have been fielding all month long from very concerned Iranian-Americans all over the U.S.

While the answers are still unclear as the United States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) amends the Iranian Transactions Regulations (“ITR”) to reflect the mandates of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability, Divestment Act of 2010 (“CISADA”), there does seem to be indications that the prohibitions on transactions with Iran will be more restrictive than ever. I wrote about some of these new prohibitions in a recent article for the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (“PAAIA”). The prohibitions found in the CISADA might very well spell the end of a number of activities currently authorized by either exemption or a general license. The following is republished from my PAAIA article and discusses how the new ITR might look:

“Probably the most pertinent section of CISADA to this article is section 103 which addresses the increased restrictions on the import and export of goods, services, and technology between the U.S. and Iran. Specifically the Act seems to eliminate previous general licenses authorizing U.S. imports of pistachios, carpets, caviar and other Iranian products. While OFAC has not yet amended the ITR to reflect the new prohibitions of the CISADA, it seems that the existing regulatory exemptions with respect to certain imports from Iran will be eliminated.

CISADA still provides exceptions, and authorizes licenses, for some exports, although the export of goods, services, and technology has been limited to the following areas: personal communications, information and informational materials; transactions incidental to travel; articles intended to relieve human suffering; agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices; services and hardware to facilitate internet communications; hardware and software to provide access to the internet; goods, services and technology necessary for the safe operation of commercial aircraft; and goods, services, and technology necessary to support the activities of non-governmental organizations related to the promotion of democracy. Furthermore, there is a catch all provision that exempts the export of any article to Iran that is deemed to be in the national security interests of the United States.

CISADA specifically identifies Iranian diplomats, representatives of other government or military or quasi-governmental institutions, such as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its affiliates, and requires the freezing of funds and other assets belonging to these designated persons, as well as transfers to family members or associates acting on the designated person’s behalf. As such, Iranian Americans must be careful in any dealings they have with such individuals.”

As evidenced above, the CISADA calls for some very tough prohibitions on transactions with Iran. Right now, it seems like the ball is in OFAC’s court to see if they will maintain some of the general licenses currently in place or if they will amend the ITR to reflect a strict interpretation of the CISADA. If they choose the latter then the window for engaging in transactions which have traditionally been authorized is closing fast.

The author of this blog is Erich Ferrari, an attorney specializing in OFAC litigation. If you have any questions please contact him at 202-280-6370 at 202-351-6161 or ferrari@ferrari-legal.com.