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Title II — Expansion and imposition of sanctions

S. 269 · 114th Congress · Jan 27, 2015 · Lineage

II Expansion and imposition of sanctions

Sec. 201 Effective dates for staged imposition of sanctions if long-term comprehensive solution not reached

If the President has not transmitted to the appropriate congressional committees, pursuant to section 101, a long-term comprehensive solution and the assessment reports described in that section—
(1)
by July 6, 2015, section 202 shall take effect;
(2)
by August 3, 2015, the provisions of and amendments made by section 203 shall take effect;
(3)
by September 7, 2015, the provisions of and amendments made by section 204 shall take effect;
(4)
by October 5, 2015, the provisions of and amendments made by section 205 shall take effect;
(5)
by November 2, 2015, the provisions of and amendments made by section 206 shall take effect; and
(6)
by December 7, 2015, the provisions of and amendments made by section 207 shall take effect.

Sec. 202 Termination of suspension of sanctions

Any sanctions imposed pursuant to statute or executive action that are deferred, waived, or otherwise suspended by the President before the date of the enactment of this Act pursuant to the Joint Plan of Action shall be reinstated on the effective date specified in section 201(1).

Sec. 203 Applicability of sanctions with respect to petroleum transactions

(a)
In general— Section 1245(d)(4)(D)(i) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a(d)(4)(D)(i)) is amended—
(1)
in subclause (I), by striking “reduced reduced its volume of crude oil purchases from Iran” and inserting “reduced the volume of its purchases of petroleum from Iran or of Iranian origin”; and
(2)
in subclause (II), by striking “crude oil purchases from Iran” and inserting “purchases of petroleum from Iran or of Iranian origin”.
(b)
Definitions— Section 1245(h) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a(h)) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and
(2)
by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:

“(3) Iranian origin—The term Iranian origin, with respect to petroleum, means extracted, produced, or refined in Iran.

“(4) Petroleum—The term petroleum includes crude oil, lease condensates, plant condensates, fuel oils, other unfinished oils, liquefied petroleum gases, and other petroleum products.”

(c)
Conforming amendments— Section 102(b) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8712(b)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (3)—
(A)
by striking “crude oil purchases from Iran” and inserting “purchases of petroleum from Iran or of Iranian origin”; and
(B)
by striking “as amended by section 504,”; and
(2)
in paragraph (4), by striking “crude oil purchases” and inserting “purchases of petroleum from Iran or of Iranian origin”.
(d)
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to determinations under section 1245(d)(4)(D)(i) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a(d)(4)(D)(i)) on or after the effective date specified in section 201(2).

Sec. 204 Ineligibility for exception to certain sanctions for countries that do not reduce purchases of petroleum from Iran or of Iranian origin to a de minimis level

(a)
Statement of policy— It shall be the policy of the United States to seek to ensure that all countries reduce their purchases of crude oil, lease condensates, fuel oils, and other unfinished oils from Iran or of Iranian origin to a de minimis level by the end of the 240-day period beginning on the effective date specified in section 201(3).
(b)
Ineligibility for exceptions to sanctions— Section 1245(d)(4)(D) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a(d)(4)(D)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(iii) Ineligibility for exception

“(I) In general—A country that purchased petroleum from Iran or of Iranian origin during the one-year period preceding the effective date specified in section 201(3) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015 may continue to receive an exception under clause (i) on or after the date that is 240 days after such effective date only—

“(aa) if the country reduces its purchases of petroleum from Iran or of Iranian origin to a de minimis level by the end of the 240-day period beginning on such effective date; or

“(bb) as provided in subclause (II) or (III).

“(II) Countries that dramatically reduce purchases

“(aa) In general—A country that would otherwise be ineligible pursuant to subclause (I)(aa) to receive an exception under clause (i) may continue to receive such an exception during the one-year period beginning on the date that is 240 days after the effective date specified in section 201(3) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015 if the country—

“(AA) dramatically reduces by at least 30 percent its purchases of petroleum from Iran or of Iranian origin during the 240-day period beginning on such effective date, as compared to its average monthly purchases of such petroleum during calendar year 2014; and

“(BB) is expected to reduce its purchases of petroleum from Iran or of Iranian origin to a de minimis level within a defined period of time that is not longer than 2 years after such effective date.

“(bb) Termination of exception—If a country that continues to receive an exception under clause (i) pursuant to item (aa) does not reduce its purchases of petroleum from Iran or of Iranian origin to a de minimis level by the date that is 2 years after the effective date specified in section 201(3) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015, that country shall not be eligible for an exception under clause (i) on or after the date that is 2 years after such effective date.

“(III) Reinstatement of eligibility for exception—A country that becomes ineligible for an exception under clause (i) pursuant to subclause (I) or (II) shall be eligible for such an exception in accordance with the provisions of clause (i) on and after the date on which the President determines the country has reduced its purchases of petroleum from Iran or of Iranian origin to a de minimis level.”

(c)
Conforming amendment— Section 1245(d)(4)(D)(i) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a(d)(4)(D)(i)) is amended in the matter preceding subclause (I) by striking “Sanctions imposed” and inserting “Except as provided in clause (iii), sanctions imposed”.

Sec. 205 Identification of, and imposition of sanctions with respect to, certain Iranian individuals

(a)
Expansion of individuals identified— Section 221(a) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8727(a)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)(C), by striking “; or” and inserting a semicolon;
(2)
in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following:

“(3) an individual who engages in activities for or on behalf of the Government of Iran that enables Iran to evade sanctions imposed by the United States with respect to Iran;

“(4) an individual acting on behalf of the Government of Iran who is involved in corrupt activities of that Government or the diversion of humanitarian goods, including agricultural commodities, food, medicine, and medical devices, intended for the people of Iran; or

“(5) a senior official—

“(A) of an entity designated for the imposition of sanctions pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) in connection with—

“(i) Iran's illicit nuclear activities or proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or delivery systems for weapons of mass destruction; or

“(ii) Iran's support for acts of international terrorism; and

“(B) who was involved in the activity for which the entity was designated for the imposition of sanctions.”

(b)
Expansion of senior officials described— Section 221(b) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8727(b)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (5), by striking “; or” and inserting a semicolon;
(2)
in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following:

“(7) a senior official of—

“(A) the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran;

“(B) the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran;

“(C) the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran;

“(D) the Council of Ministers of Iran;

“(E) the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics of Iran;

“(F) the Ministry of Justice of Iran;

“(G) the Ministry of Interior of Iran;

“(H) the prison system of Iran; or

“(I) the judicial system of Iran.”

(c)
Blocking of property— Section 221 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8727) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and
(2)
by inserting after subsection (c) the following:

“(d) Blocking of property

“(1) Officials and other actors—In the case of an individual described in paragraph (1), (3), (4), or (5) of subsection (a) who is on the list required by that subsection, the President shall block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property of that individual if such property or interests in property are in the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United States person.

“(2) Family members—In the case of an individual described in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) who is on the list required by that subsection, the President shall block and prohibit a transaction in property or an interest in property of that individual if the property or interest in property—

“(A) was transferred to that individual from an individual described in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) who is on the list required by that subsection; and

“(B) is in the United States, comes within the United States, or is or comes within the possession or control of a United States person.”

(d)
Conforming amendments— Section 221 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8727), as amended by subsections (a), (b), and (c), is further amended—
(1)
by striking the section heading and inserting “Identification of, and imposition of sanctions with respect to, certain Iranian individuals”;
(2)
in subsection (a), by striking “Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act” and inserting “Not later than 90 days after the effective date specified in section 201(4) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015”; and
(3)
in subsection (c), by striking “subsection (d)” and inserting “subsection (e)”.
(e)
Clerical amendment— The table of contents for the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701 et seq.) is amended by striking the item relating to section 221 and inserting the following:

Sec. 206 Imposition of sanctions with respect to transactions in foreign currencies with or for certain sanctioned persons

(a)
In general— Title II of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8721 et seq.) is amended—
(1)
by inserting after section 221 the following:

“C Other matters”

(2)
by redesignating sections 222, 223, and 224 as sections 231, 232, and 233, respectively; and
(3)
by inserting after section 221 the following:

“222. Imposition of sanctions with respect to transactions in foreign currencies with certain sanctioned persons

“(a) Imposition of sanctions—The President—

“(1) shall prohibit the opening, and prohibit or impose strict conditions on the maintaining, in the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-through account by a foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates a transaction described in subsection (b)(1); and

“(2) may impose sanctions pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) with respect to any other person that knowingly conducts or facilitates such a transaction.

“(b) Transactions described

“(1) In general—A transaction described in this subsection is a significant transaction conducted or facilitated by a person related to the currency of a country other than the country with primary jurisdiction over the person with, for, or on behalf of—

“(A) the Central Bank of Iran or an Iranian financial institution designated by the Secretary of the Treasury for the imposition of sanctions pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or

“(B) a person described in section 1244(c)(2) of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8803(c)(2)) (other than a person described in subparagraph (C)(iii) of that section).

“(2) Primary jurisdiction—For purposes of paragraph (1), a country in which a person operates shall be deemed to have primary jurisdiction over the person only with respect to the operations of the person in that country.

“(c) Applicability—Subsection (a) shall apply with respect to a transaction described in subsection (b)(1) conducted or facilitated—

“(1) on or after the effective date specified in section 201(5) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015 pursuant to a contract entered into on or after such effective date; and

“(2) on or after the date that is 90 days after such effective date pursuant to a contract entered into before such effective date.

“(d) Inapplicability to humanitarian transactions—The President may not impose sanctions under subsection (a) with respect to any person for conducting or facilitating a transaction for the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices to Iran or for the provision of humanitarian assistance to the people of Iran.

“(e) Waiver

“(1) In general—The President may waive the application of subsection (a) with respect to a person for a period of not more than 180 days, and may renew that waiver for additional periods of not more than 180 days, if the President—

“(A) determines that the waiver is important to the national interest of the United States; and

“(B) not less than 15 days after the waiver or the renewal of the waiver, as the case may be, takes effect, submits a report to the appropriate congressional committees on the waiver and the reason for the waiver.

“(2) Form of report—Each report submitted under paragraph (1)(B) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain a classified annex.

“(f) Definitions—In this section:

“(1) Financial institution; Iranian financial institution—The terms financial institution and Iranian financial institution have the meanings given those terms in section 104A(d) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8513b(d)).

“(2) Transaction—The term transaction includes a foreign exchange swap, a foreign exchange forward, and any other type of currency exchange or conversion or derivative instrument.”

(b)
Additional definitions— Section 2 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (9), respectively;
(2)
by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:

“(1) Account; correspondent account; payable-through account—The terms account, correspondent account, and payable-through account have the meanings given those terms in section 5318A of title 31, United States Code.

“(2) Agricultural commodity—The term agricultural commodity has the meaning given that term in section 102 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602).

“(3) Appropriate congressional committees—The term appropriate congressional committees has the meaning given that term in section 14 of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note).

“(4) Domestic financial institution; foreign financial institution—The terms domestic financial institution and foreign financial institution have the meanings determined by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 104(i) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8513(i)).”

(3)
by inserting after paragraph (6), as redesignated by paragraph (1), the following:

“(7) Medical device—The term medical device has the meaning given the term device in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321).

“(8) Medicine—The term medicine has the meaning given the term drug in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321).”

(c)
Clerical amendment— The table of contents for the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 is amended by striking the items relating to sections 222, 223, and 224 and inserting the following:

Sec. 207 Imposition of sanctions with respect to ports, special economic zones, and strategic sectors of Iran

(a)
Findings— Section 1244(a)(1) of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8803(a)(1)) is amended by striking “and shipbuilding” and inserting “shipbuilding, automotive, construction, engineering, and mining”.
(b)
Expansion of designation of entities of proliferation concern— Section 1244(b) of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8803(b)) is amended by striking “in Iran and entities in the energy, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors” and inserting “, special economic zones, or free economic zones in Iran, and entities in strategic sectors”.
(c)
Expansion of entities subject to blocking of property— Section 1244(c) of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8803(c)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)(A), by striking “the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act” and inserting “the effective date specified in section 201(6) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015”;
(2)
in paragraph (2)—
(A)
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act” and inserting “the effective date specified in section 201(6) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015”;
(B)
by striking “the energy, shipping, or shipbuilding sectors” each place it appears and inserting “a strategic sector”; and
(C)
by inserting “, special economic zone, or free economic zone” after “port” each place it appears; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following:

“(4) Strategic sector defined

“(A) In general—In this section, the term strategic sector means—

“(i) the energy, shipping, shipbuilding, automotive, and mining sectors of Iran;

“(ii) except as provided in subparagraph (B), the construction and engineering sectors of Iran; and

“(iii) any other sector the President designates as of strategic importance to Iran.

“(B) Exception for construction and engineering of schools, hospitals, and similar facilities—For purposes of this section, a project to construct or engineer a school, hospital, or similar facility (as determined by the President) shall not be considered part of a strategic sector of Iran.

“(C) Notification of strategic sector designation—The President shall submit to Congress a notification of the designation of a sector as a strategic sector of Iran for purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii) not later than 5 days after the date on which the President makes the designation.”

(d)
Additional sanctions with respect to strategic sectors— Section 1244(d) of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8803(d)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)(A), by striking “the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act” and inserting “the effective date specified in section 201(6) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015”;
(2)
in paragraph (2), by striking “the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act” and inserting “the effective date specified in section 201(6) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015”; and
(3)
in paragraph (3), by striking “the energy, shipping, or shipbuilding sectors” and inserting “a strategic sector”.
(e)
Sale, supply, or transfer of certain materials to or from Iran— Section 1245 of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8804) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)(1)—
(A)
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act” and inserting “the effective date specified in section 201(6) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015”; and
(B)
in subparagraph (C)(i)(I), by striking “the energy, shipping, or shipbuilding sectors” and inserting “a strategic sector (as defined in section 1244(c)(4))”; and
(2)
in subsection (c), by striking “the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act” and inserting “the effective date specified in section 201(6) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015”.
(f)
Provision of insurance to sanctioned persons— Section 1246(a)(1) of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8805(a)(1)) is amended—
(1)
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act” and inserting “the effective date specified in section 201(6) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015”; and
(2)
in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking “the energy, shipping, or shipbuilding sectors” and inserting “a strategic sector (as defined in section 1244(c)(4))”.
(g)
Conforming amendments— Section 1244 of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8803), as amended by subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d), is further amended—
(1)
in the section heading, by striking “the energy, shipping, and shipbuilding” and inserting “certain ports, economic zones, and”;
(2)
in subsection (b), in the subsection heading, by striking “ports and entities in the energy, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors of Iran as”;
(3)
in subsection (c), in the subsection heading, by striking “entities in energy, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors” and inserting “certain entities”; and
(4)
in subsection (d), in the subsection heading, by striking “the energy, shipping, and shipbuilding” and inserting “strategic”.

Sec. 208 Waiver of sanctions

The President may waive the application of any sanction pursuant to a provision of or amendment made by this title for a 30-day period, and may renew the waiver for additional 30-day periods, if the President, before the waiver or renewal, as the case may be—
(1)
certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that—
(A)
the waiver or renewal, as the case may be, is in the national security interest of the United States;
(B)
the waiver or renewal, as the case may be, is necessary to and likely to result in achieving a long-term comprehensive solution with Iran; and
(C)
Iran is not making further progress on its nuclear weapons program and is in compliance with all interim agreements with respect to that program; and
(2)
submits to the appropriate congressional committees a comprehensive report on the status of the negotiations toward a long-term comprehensive solution that includes an assessment of the likelihood of reaching that solution and the timeframe anticipated for achieving that solution.