Message to the Congress Concerning Further Sanctions on Iran

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:

Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order (the "order") that takes additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957 of March 15, 1995, and implements the existing statutory requirements of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104 172) (50 U.S.C. 1701 note) (ISA), as amended by, inter alia, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111 195) (CISADA).

In Executive Order 12957, the President found that the actions and policies of the Government of Iran threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.  To deal with that threat, the President in Executive Order 12957 declared a national emergency and imposed prohibitions on certain transactions with respect to the development of Iranian petroleum resources.  To further respond to that threat, Executive Order 12959 of May 6, 1995, imposed comprehensive trade and financial sanctions on Iran.  Executive Order 13059 of August 19, 1997, consolidated and clarified the previous orders.  To take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957 and to implement section 105(a) of CISADA, I issued Executive Order 13553 on September 28, 2010, to impose sanctions on officials of the Government of Iran and other persons acting on behalf of the Government of Iran determined to be responsible for or complicit in certain serious human rights abuses.

In CISADA, which I signed into law on July 1, 2010, the Congress found that the illicit nuclear activities of the Government of Iran, along with its development of unconventional weapons and ballistic missiles and its support for international terrorism, threaten the security of the United States.  To address the potential connection between Iran's illicit nuclear program and its energy sector, CISADA amended ISA to expand the types of activities that are sanctionable under that Act.  ISA now requires that sanctions be imposed or waived for persons that are determined to have made certain investments in Iran's energy sector or to have engaged in certain activities relating to Iran's refined petroleum sector.  In addition to expanding the types of sanctionable energy related activities, CISADA added new sanctions that can be imposed pursuant to ISA.

This order is intended to implement the statutory requirements of ISA.  Certain ISA sanctions require action by the private sector, and the order will further the implementation of those ISA sanctions by providing authority under IEEPA to the Secretary of the Treasury to take certain actions with respect to those sanctions.  The order states that the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall take the following actions necessary to implement the sanctions selected, imposed, and maintained on a person by the President or by the Secretary of State, pursuant to authority that I have delegated:

• with respect to section 6(a)(3) of ISA, prohibit any United States financial institution from making loans or providing credits to the person consistent with section 6(a)(3) of ISA;
• with respect to section 6(a)(6) of ISA, prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and in which the person has any interest;
• with respect to section 6(a)(7) of ISA, prohibit any transfers of credit or payments between financial institutions or by, through, or to any financial institution, to the extent that such transfers or payments are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and involve any interest of the person;
• with respect to section 6(a)(8) of ISA, block all property and interests in property that are in the United States, that come within the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any overseas branch, of the person, and provide that such property and interests in property may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in; or
• with respect to section 6(a)(9) of ISA, restrict or prohibit imports of goods, technology, or services, directly or indirectly, into the United States from the person.

I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury the authority, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA and the relevant provisions of ISA, and to employ all powers granted to the United States Government by the relevant provision of ISA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the order.  All executive agencies of the United States Government are directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of the order.

I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.

                             BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE,
May 23, 2011.