§8806 Imposition of sanctions with respect to foreign financial institutions that facilitate financial transactions on behalf of specially designated nationals

Summary

The President must stop foreign banks from opening, or must limit keeping, U.S. accounts that let those banks move money in the United States if the President finds that the bank, on or after the date that is 180 days after January 2, 2013, knowingly helped a significant financial transaction for any Iranian person on the Treasury Department’s OFAC list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons. Iranian banks that have not been designated for supporting weapons proliferation, terrorism, or human rights abuses are not covered by that rule. The rule does not apply to transactions for the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices, or for humanitarian aid to the people of Iran. The rule about petroleum applies only when a presidential finding under section 8513a(d)(4)(B) is in effect, and it also does not apply in cases meeting the exception in section 8513a(d)(4)(D)(i) for the country that has primary control over the foreign bank. That exception applies when the payment is only for trade in goods or services not otherwise banned by U.S. law, the trade is just between that country and Iran, and any money owed to Iran stays in an account in that country. The same limits apply to natural gas transactions. The President may waive these sanctions for up to 180 days at a time, renewably, if he says the waiver is vital to U.S. national security and sends an unclassified report (with a possible classified annex) to the appropriate congressional committees explaining why.