Iran Sanctions - Foreign Press Centers

Iran Sanctions
Later in the 111 th Congress, a House bill (Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act) containing the
provisions above sanctioning gasoline related sales to Iran, H.R. 2194, was passed by the House
on December 15, 2009, by a vote of 412-12, with four others voting “present” and six others not
voting. A bill in the Senate, the “Dodd-Shelby Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and
Divestment Act,” (S. 2799), was reported to the full Senate by the Senate Banking Committee on
November 19, 2009, and passed the Senate, by voice vote, on January 28, 2010. It was adopted
by the Senate under unanimous consent as a substitute amendment to H.R. 2194 on March 11,
2010, setting up conference action on the two versions of H.R. 2194. The Senate bill added to the
House bill provisions affecting U.S.-Iran trade and other issues. As shown in Table 2, the final
version contained many of the extensive provisions of the Senate version, and some of the efforts
to compel sanctions represented in the House version. The President signed the final version on
July 1, 2010 (P.L. 111-195). It should be noted that CISADA had many provisions beyond
amending ISA, and Table 5 contains a summary of all its provisions.
Main CISADA Provision Sanctioning Gasoline and Related Sales to Iran. CISADA’s main
provision was to amend ISA by making sanctionable:
• Sales to Iran of over $1 million worth (or $5 million in a one year period) of
gasoline and related aviation and other fuels. (Fuel oil, a petroleum by-product
which is reportedly being sold to Iran by exporters in the Kurdish region of Iraq,
is not included in the definition of refined petroleum.)
• Sales to Iran of equipment or services (same dollar threshold as above) which
would help Iran make or import gasoline. Such sales would include equipment
and services that Iran can use to construct or maintain its oil refineries.
Triggers Added by Executive Order 13590 (November 21, 2011): Application of
ISA to Sales of Energy Sector (Including Petrochemical) Equipment and Services
In the wake of a November 8, 2011, IAEA report indicating Iran might have worked on nuclear
explosive technology, the Administration issued an executive order, under the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), expanding the authorities of the Iran Sanctions Act to
direct the Secretary of State to impose at least one (1) of the available ISA sanctions on foreign
firms that
• Provide to Iran $1 million or more (or $5 million in a one year period) worth of
goods or services that Iran could use to maintain or enhance its oil and gas sector.
This would appear to make sanctionable the activity of global oil services firms
in Iran, or the provision to Iran of gear typically used in the oil industry such as
drills, pumps, vacuums, oil rigs, and the like.
• Provide to Iran $250,000 (or $1 million in a one year period) worth of goods or
services that Iran could use to maintain or expand its production of petrochemical
products.
• Because these provisions were issued by executive order, the other legislative
provisions of ISA, such as the time frame to begin and complete investigations of
suspected violations, do not necessarily apply.
Congressional Research Service 4