On 31 December 2011, the United States (US) imposed a range of diplomatic and legal sanctions to prevent foreign financial institutions from conducting transactions with Iran as part of international efforts to prevent further development of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The European Union (EU) also agreed to impose sanctions on Iran that would become fully effective from July 2012 onwards. Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) authorized a range of sanctions that aligned with the US and EU prohibitions. In mid-to-late 2015, negotiations between the P5+1 countries - the term refers to the UN Security Council's five permanent members; namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States; plus Germany - agreed upon the basis for sanctions relief and, in return for a bounding of Iran’s nuclear program and an intrusive verification regime for a period of 10 years, to lift a large proportion of the sanctions imposed. A framework within which sanctions would be lifted was established as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and a target “Implementation Day” was set for 16 January 2016. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was able to confirm that Iran had indeed complied with its request to disengage from its nuclear weapons program within the stipulated timeframe, allowing the JCPOA to be enacted. This meant that on Implementation Day in January this year, a number of restrictions were lifted, allowing Iran’s economy to once again begin interacting with the larger economy. Restrictions were lifted for the financial, energy, shipping, automotive sectors among others, and more than 400 Iranian individuals and entities were removed from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN), thus allowing them to trade again. However, it should be pointed out that significant sanctions remain in place, most notably with regard to US citizens and companies. The new regulations are complex in their application, and many legal and compliance traps remain for the unwary or wilfully illicit entity seeking to transact business with Iran. In this detailed podcast, we speak to William G Rich, the Treasury Attaché to the United Arab Emirates and Sultanate of Oman at U.S. Department of the Treasury, about the details of the agreement and the next steps forward for business in Iran. To find out more, or for additional advice on dealing with Iran Sactions please visit: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Pages/default.aspx For questions specifically relating to Iran related transactions, please contact the OFAC Hotline: 1800-540-6322 Or email them at: [email protected]