§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, and can stop or tightly limit them from keeping, U.S. correspondent or payable-through accounts if the bank knowingly helped a significant financial transaction for any Iranian person on the Treasury’s list of specially designated nationals on or after the date that is 180 days after January 2, 2013. An Iranian bank is not covered if it has not been sanctioned for weapons proliferation, support for international terrorism, or human rights abuses. The President cannot use these rules against anyone who is buying or selling agricultural goods, food, medicine, medical devices, or who is giving humanitarian aid to the people of Iran. Rules about buying oil apply only when a presidential finding under section 8513a(d)(4)(B) is in effect that shows other countries’ oil supply and price let buyers cut purchases from Iran. A similar exception applies if the country that oversees the foreign bank has the exception under section 8513a(d)(4)(D)(i) and the trade is only for goods or services between that country and Iran with payment kept in that country. The same kind of rule and exception applies to natural gas. The President can waive these sanctions for up to 180 days at a time, and renew the waiver, if it is vital to U.S. national security and he sends an unclassified report (with a possible classified annex) to Congress explaining why.