Sanctions

The Iranian economy will receive a boost from sanctions relief, both from increased trade and recovering billions of dollars in frozen assets. Additionally, Iran’s return to the oil market could cause oil prices to drop by 14 percent, according to the World Bank’s MENA Quarterly Economic Brief,…
On August 7, the U.S. Treasury issued guidance clarifying that Iran will continue to receive the limited sanctions relief specified by the 2013 interim nuclear deal, known as the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA). Once the final nuclear deal is implemented – likely not until early 2016 – the Treasury…
Sanctions relief was a “necessary part of any deal,” according to Adam Szubin, acting Under Secretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, in his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on August 5.  Szubin defended the deal, emphasizing that it would not have been “feasible to…
A new Congressional Research Service report by Dianne Rennack lays out the legislative basis for sanctions on Iran, as well as the authority of Congress and the President to waive or lift sanctions. The ability to impose and remove sanctions with “some nimbleness and responsiveness to changing…
On June 7, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew defended the Obama administration's diplomatic efforts to solve the nuclear dispute with Iran. Speaking to an audience at the annual Jerusalem Post conference in New York, he also outlined how sanctions relief could work under a final agreement. Sanctions “…
Sanctions have constricted Iran’s economy and played a role in bringing Iran to the negotiating table over its nuclear program, according to Kenneth Katzman in an updated Congressional Research Service report. International sanctions have caused a decline in Iran’s GDP, oil production and exports,…
On April 29, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew outlined how the United States could ensure Iran’s compliance with the terms of a nuclear deal. He said the United States could keep the “sanctions architecture in place while providing relief through waivers” to preserve the ability to “reimpose sanctions…
Garrett Nada A gradual lifting of sanctions on Iran could reopen the Middle East’s second largest economy (after Saudi Arabia) to U.S. and Western companies. Many European companies were active in Iran until 2010, but American companies have avoided doing business in the Islamic Republic for…
Iranians believe economic conditions have improved since sanctions were eased under the Joint Plan of Action in November 2013, according to a new Gallup poll. In May 2013, 62 percent of Iranians said sanctions hurt their livelihood "a great deal," but only 45 percent gave the same response in…
On March 20, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei released a statement on the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, encouraging “close cooperation between the people and the administration.”  The next day he delivered a speech in Mashhad, criticizing President Obama’s Nowruz message for…