On 22 May 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015. This legislation requires that any final nuclear deal reached with Iran be presented to Congress and provides a period during which Congress can adopt a resolution approving or rejecting the deal. For more information about this legislation, please see our previous blog posts on 8 May 2015 and 19 May 2015.
Earlier today, representatives of the P5+1 governments reported that negotiators have reached an understanding with Iran regarding the framework for an agreement addressing Iran’s nuclear program. A fact sheet outlining the parameters of this understanding is available online here. A comprehensive agreement remains to be written, but according to the agreed framework such an agreement will provide for the relaxation of certain US, EU, and UN sanctions targeting Iran if it is verified that Iran is abiding…
On 18 February 2015, the US Government issued final rules relaxing certain export and reexport restrictions imposed under US sanctions targeting Sudan. Specifically, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) amended the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 538 (“SUSR”), to include a new general license authorizing the export or reexport to Sudan of certain software, hardware, and services incident to personal communications. In coordination with OFAC, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau…
On 2 January 2015, US President Barack Obama issued a new Executive Order (“the Order”) authorizing the imposition of additional sanctions targeting the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“North Korea”). According to a Press Release issued by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the Order is being issued in response to recent cyber-attacks targeting Sony Pictures Entertainment that were allegedly carried out by the Government of North Korea. Simultaneously, OFAC announced…