Iran Sanctions
The sanctions in Iran that have been imposed by the United States government or under pressure from the United States include a complete embargo on dealings with Iran by Americans as well as threatening the world’s oil and gas companies against any investment in Iran and a ban on selling aircraft and repair parts to any Iranian aviation companies.
Although these sanctions were imposed after the Iranian or Islamic Revolution, the United States as well as the United Kingdom previously imposed a worldwide boycott of Iranian oil back in the 1950s. The boycott was in response to the election of then Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddez who had intended to nationalize the oil industry in Iran.
The first Untied States economic sanctions against Iran began after the revolution in 1979. When a group of radical students seized the American Embassy and held 52 American hostages, the United States responded by freezing approximately $12 billion in Iranian assets which included bank deposits, gold and other properties. Many assets still remain frozen today pending the resolution of legal claims which arose from the revolution.
After the Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1984, the United States intensified the sanctions on Iran. Sanctions were approved to oppose all loans to Iran from international financial institutions, to prohibit weapons sales to Iran and to prohibit any and all assistance to the country.
During 1987, the United States further set into motion prohibitions against the importation of any goods or services from Iran and the United States naval and air forces struck Iranian naval unites and a civilian airplane in response to the Iranian efforts to disrupt the flow of Iraqi oil from the Persian Gulf with mines and missile attacks.
The Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1196 threatened non United States countries making certain investments in Iran. Under the act, all foreign companies which provide an investment of over $20 million for the development of petroleum resources in Iran will be imposed two out of a possible seven sanctions by the United States.
The denial of assistance or export licenses are only two of these sanctions.
While any Iranian financial institutions are forbidden to directly access the United States financial system, they are permitted to indirectly deal with banks in other countries. In 2001 a Hezbollah controlled organization received approximately 50 million dollars in United States money directly from Iran through the Bank Saderat.
Since that time, Florida has enacted a boycott on any company that trades with Iran and Sudan and New Jersey is considering similar actions.
