Sanctions

On January 13, the United States sanctioned two major foundations, along with their heads and subsidiaries, controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The two bonyads (charitable organizations), Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order and Astan Quds Razavi, have accumulated vast wealth through…
Benjamin Gedan is deputy director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. He is a former South America director on the National Security Council and also served at the State Department and the…
On October 8, the Treasury sanctioned 18 major Iranian banks to cut Iran off from the global banking system and deny the regime access to foreign funds and institutions. The new sanctions are the latest step in the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure campaign” to squeeze Iran into…
On September 17, the Treasury sanctioned two groups for cyber espionage. The new sanctions covered Rana Intelligence Computing Company, an Iranian cyber firm, and a cyber espionage group dubbed “Advanced Persistent Threat 39 (APT 39)” by U.S. cyber security companies. The Treasury also designated…
On September 3, the United States sanctioned companies based in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for deals involving Iranian oil. The State Department sanctioned five companies for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport and marketing of Iranian petroleum. The Treasury also…
On June 7, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Iran’s largest petrochemical holding group, Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC), for supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The U.S. had designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization on April 8. The Office of Foreign Assets…
By Elizabeth Rosenberg Elizabeth Rosenberg held senior roles at the U.S. Department of the Treasury from 2009 to 2013, where she helped oversee the tightening of international sanctions on Iran. She is now a Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center…
On September 14, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Thailand-based My Aviation Company Limited for acting for or on behalf of Mahan Air, an Iranian airline previously blacklisted for support for terrorism. “Treasury is cutting off yet another service provider acting on behalf of Mahan Air, a sanctioned…
On July 16, Iran filed a lawsuit against the United States at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the reimposition of U.S. sanctions. Iran alleged that the United States violated a treaty signed in 1955, more than two decades before the Islamic Revolution and the subsequent souring of…
On September 19, the Trump administration formally reimposed U.N. sanctions on Iran that had been lifted as part of the 2015 nuclear deal. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that the United States unilaterally would reenact five sets of U.N. sanctions from 2006 through 2010, despite opposition…