January 16, 2016, marks Implementation Day, as outlined by the JCPOA and agreed upon by Iran and the P5+1 (United States, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom), meaning that the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified that Iran has implemented the nuclear related measures it agreed to this past summer. In recognizing Iran’s compliance, the United States lifted nuclear related secondary sanctions placed on Iran. What does this mean for Americans hoping to do business with Iran?

Primary sanctions on Iran are still firmly in place and U.S. persons are still broadly prohibited from engaging Iran. However, there are exceptions to this broad prohibition:

  1. Specific licenses may be issued authorizing U.S. persons to export, re-export, sell, lease or transfer to Iran commercial passenger aircraft and/or aircraft parts, components or services. This exception is strictly for civil aviation end-use.
  2. General License H allows for some transactions between the Government of Iran (including people subject to the Government of Iran) and U.S. Owned and/or controlled foreign entities. There are, however, many exceptions to this general allowance, and the transfer of funds to or from Iran through a U.S. financial institution remains prohibited, as are transactions with any entity on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list. Also, many goods and technologies remain unavailable for export under General License H.
  3. The Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) are being amended to provide for general licenses allowing for the trade in certain Iranian-origin foods (caviar, pistachios) and carpets.

Click here for OFAC’s official Implementation Day Statement and subsequent guidance. OFAC guidance more broadly related to the JCPOA can be found here. And, the full text of the JCPOA can be found here.