US Codex
Bill
Notes

Title II — Imposition of additional sanctions with respect to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps

H.R. 2118 · 116th Congress · Apr 8, 2019 · Lineage

II Imposition of additional sanctions with respect to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps

Sec. 201 Additional sanctions with respect to foreign persons that are officials, agents, or affiliates of, or owned or controlled by, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps

(a)
Sensitive transactions and activities described— Section 301(c) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8741(c)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
by striking “$1,000,000” and inserting “$500,000”; and
(B)
by inserting “Iranian financial institution or” after “involving a”;
(2)
by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) as paragraphs (6), (7), and (8), respectively; and
(3)
by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new paragraphs:

“(3) a transaction to provide material support for an organization designated as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)) or support for an act of international terrorism (as defined in section 14 of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note));

“(4) a transaction to provide material support to a foreign person whose property and access to property has been blocked pursuant to Executive Order 13224 (September 23, 2001; relating to blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism);

“(5) a transaction to provide material support for—

“(A) any entity whose property and access to property has been blocked pursuant to Executive Order 13582 (August 17, 2011; relating to blocking property of the Government of Syria and prohibiting certain transactions with respect to Syria); or

“(B) any entity owned or controlled by the Government of Syria, including for purposes of post-conflict reconstruction;”

(b)
Waiver of imposition of sanctions— Section 301(e) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8741(e)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
by striking “(A) determines” and inserting “(A)(i) determines”;
(B)
by striking “(B) submits” and inserting “(ii) submits”;
(C)
by striking “(i) identifies” and inserting “(I) identifies”;
(D)
by striking “(ii) sets” and inserting “(II) sets”;
(E)
by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
(F)
by adding at the end the following:

“(B) with respect to a foreign person identified by reason of having conducted or attempted to conduct one or more sensitive transactions or activities described in subsection (c)(5), also certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps is significantly decreasing provision of direct or indirect material support to the Government of Syria or Hezbollah’s operations in Syria.”

(2)
in paragraph (2), by striking “paragraph (1)(B)” and inserting “paragraph (1)(A)(ii)”.
(c)
Regulations, implementation, penalties, and definitions— Section 301 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8741) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (h); and
(2)
by inserting after subsection (e) the following new subsections:

“(f) Penalties—A person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of subsection (a) or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry out subsection (a) shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that section.

“(g) Definitions—In this section:

“(1) Foreign person—The term foreign person means a person that is not a United States person.

“(2) United States person—The term United States person means—

“(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States; or

“(B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.”

(d)
Effective date— The amendments made by this section take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and apply with respect to conduct described in paragraph (3) of section 301(a) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012, as added by this section, engaged in on or after such date of enactment.

Sec. 202 Additional sanctions with respect to foreign persons that support or conduct certain transactions with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps or other sanctioned persons

(a)
Identification— Section 302(a)(1) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8742(a)(1))—
(1)
in subparagraph (B)—
(A)
by inserting “, or provide significant financial services to,” after “transactions with”; and
(B)
by striking “or” at the end; and
(2)
in subparagraph (C)—
(A)
in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting “, provide significant financial services to, or provide material support to” after “transactions with”;
(B)
in clause (i), by striking “or” at the end; and
(C)
by striking clause (ii) and inserting the following:

“(ii) an Iranian person or entity designated as foreign terrorist organizations under section 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)) or that has provided support for an act of international terrorism (as defined in section 14 of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note));

“(iii) an Iranian person whose property and access to property has been blocked pursuant to Executive Order 13224 (September 23, 2001; relating to blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism);

“(iv) an Iranian person whose property and access to property has been blocked pursuant to—

“(I) Executive Order 13608 (May 1, 2012), relating to Prohibiting Certain Transactions with and Suspending Entry Into the United States of Foreign Sanctions Evaders with Respect to Iran and Syria;

“(II) Executive Order 13606 (April 23, 2012), relating to Blocking the Property and Suspending Entry Into the United States of Certain Persons With Respect to Grave Human Rights Abuses by the Governments of Iran and Syria via Information Technology;

“(III) Executive Order 13582 (August 18, 2011), relating to Blocking Property of the Government of Syria and Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to Syria;

“(IV) Executive Order 13573 (May 18, 2011), relating to Blocking Property of Senior Officials of the Government of Syria;

“(V) Executive Order 13572 (April 29, 2011), relating to Blocking Property of Certain Persons with Respect to Human Rights Abuses in Syria;

“(VI) Executive Order 13460 (February 15, 2008), relating to Blocking Property of Additional Persons in Connection with the National Emergency with Respect to Syria;

“(VII) Executive Order 13399 (April 26, 2006), relating to Blocking Property of Additional Persons in Connection with the National Emergency with Respect to Syria;

“(VIII) Executive Order 13338 (May 12, 2004), relating to Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting the Export of Certain Goods to Syria; or

“(IX) any other Executive order adopted on or after the date of the enactment of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Economic Exclusion Act, to the extent that such Executive order imposes sanctions with respect to Syria; or

“(v) a person acting on behalf of or at the direction of, or owned or controlled by, a person described in clauses (i) through (iv).”

(b)
Imposition of sanctions— Section 302(b) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8742(b)) is amended—
(1)
by striking “If the President—” and inserting the following:

“(1) In general—If the President”

(2)
by striking “subsection, the President—” and all that follows and inserting “the President shall block and prohibit all transactions in property and interests in property with respect to such foreign person if such property and 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.”; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following:

“(2) Exception relating to importation of goods

“(A) In general—The requirement to impose sanctions as described in paragraph (1) shall not include the authority to impose sanctions on the importation of goods.

“(B) Good defined—In this paragraph, the term good means any article, natural or man-made substance, material, supply or manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment, and excluding technical data.”

(c)
Waiver of imposition of sanctions— Section 302(d) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8742(d)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
by striking “(A)(i) determines” and inserting “(A)(i)(I) determines”;
(B)
by striking “(ii) determines” and inserting “(II) determines”;
(C)
by striking “(B) submits” and inserting “(ii) submits”;
(D)
by striking “(i) identifies” and inserting “(I) identifies”;
(E)
by striking “(ii) describes” and inserting “(II) describes”;
(F)
by striking “(iii) sets forth” and inserting “(III) sets forth”;
(G)
by striking the period at the end and inserting “and”; and
(H)
by adding at the end the following:

“(B) with respect to a foreign person identified by reason of having engaged in a significant transaction or transactions described in subsection (a)(1)(C)(iv), also certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps is significantly decreasing provision of direct or indirect material support to the Government of Syria or Hezbollah’s operations in Syria.”

(2)
in paragraph (2), by striking “paragraph (1)(B)” and inserting “paragraph (1)(A)(ii)”.
(d)
Waiver of identifications and designations— Section 302(e) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8742(e)) is amended—
(1)
by striking “and subject to paragraph (2)”;
(2)
by striking “(1) determines” and inserting “(1)(A) determines”;
(3)
by striking “(2) notifies” and inserting “(B) notifies”;
(4)
by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
(5)
by adding at the end the following:

“(2) with respect to a foreign person identified by reason of having engaged in a significant transaction or transactions described in subsection (a)(1)(C)(iv), also certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps is significantly decreasing provision of direct or indirect material support to the Government of Syria or Hezbollah’s operations in Syria.”

(e)
Application of provisions of Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012— Section 302 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8742) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(g) Application of provisions of Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012—Subsections (e) and (f) of section 1244 of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8803) apply with respect to the imposition under subsection (b)(1) of sanctions relating to activities described in subsection (a)(1) to the same extent that such provisions apply with respect to the imposition of sanctions under subsections (c) and (d) of the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012.”

(f)
Effective date— The amendments made by this section take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and apply with respect to conduct described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 302(a)(1) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012, as amended by this section, engaged in on or after such date of enactment.

Sec. 203 Reports on certain Iranian persons

(a)
Statement of policy— It shall be the policy of the United States to fully implement and enforce sanctions against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, including its officials, agents, and affiliates.
(b)
In general— Subtitle B of title III of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–158; 126 Stat. 1247) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“313. Report on certain Iranian persons

“(a) In general—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Iran Ballistic Missiles and International Sanctions Enforcement Act, and annually thereafter for a period not to exceed two years, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that contains the following:

“(1) A list of foreign persons that are operating business enterprises in Iran that have a valuation of more than $100,000,000 in Iran and, with respect to each such foreign person, a determination of whether or not Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps or any foreign persons that are officials, agents, or affiliates of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, directly or indirectly owns or controls the foreign person.

“(2) A list of Iranian financial institutions that have a valuation of more than $10,000,000 and, with respect to each such Iranian financial institution, a determination of whether or not—

“(A) the institution has knowingly facilitated a significant transaction directly or indirectly for, or on behalf of, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps during the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this section; or

“(B) Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps or any foreign persons that are officials, agents, or affiliates of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, directly or indirectly, owns or controls the institution.

“(b) Form of report; public availability

“(1) Form—The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain a classified annex.

“(2) Public availability—The unclassified portion of the report required by paragraph (1) shall be posted on a publicly available Internet website of the Department of the Treasury and a publicly available Internet website of the Department of State.

“(c) Definitions—In this section:

“(1) Foreign person—The term foreign person means a person that is not a United States person.

“(2) Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps—The term Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps includes any senior foreign political figure (as defined in section 1010.605 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations) of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“(3) Iranian financial institution—The term Iranian financial institution has the meaning given such term in section 561.320 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.

“(4) Significant transaction—A transaction shall be determined to be a “significant transaction” in accordance with section 561.404 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, as such section 561.404 was in effect on January 1, 2016.

“(5) United States person—The term United States person means—

“(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States; or

“(B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.”

(c)
Clerical amendment— The table of contents for the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 312 the following:

Sec. 204 Statement of policy on prevention of accession of Iran to World Trade Organization

(a)
In general— It shall be the policy of the United States to work to prevent Iran’s membership in the World Trade Organization and similar international bodies until the date on which the determination of the Secretary of State that the Government of Iran has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism under the provisions of law described in subsection (b) is rescinded.
(b)
Provisions of law described— The provisions of law described in this subsection are—
(1)
section 1754(c) of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018;
(2)
section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act;
(3)
section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; or
(4)
any other provision of law.