Executive Summary

  • Effective May 8, 2018, the US Government withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”).
  • The US Government will re-instate the sanctions that were lifted or waived following the implementation of the JCPOA.
  • This action has a greater impact on non-US persons because most of the lifted or waived sanctions were secondary sanctions targeting activities of non-US companies occurring outside of US jurisdiction.
  • The sanctions will be re-instated on August 7, 2018, and November 5, 2018, following the end of 90-day and 180-day “wind-down” periods.
  • Importantly, US Persons and non-US entities owned or controlled by US Persons engaged in activities authorized under General License H will need to wind down such activities by November 4, 2018.
  • Non-US persons can also take advantage of the wind-down periods to cease engaging in the sanctionable activities described below; otherwise they face the risk of US secondary sanctions for engaging in such sanctionable activities past the wind-down periods.
  • Thus, all persons, but especially non-US persons should carefully consider, without limitation:
    • the scope of their activities implicating Iran;
    • whether such activities, if continued following the wind-down periods, could present a risk of US secondary sanctions;
    • the extent to which such activities should be wound down, based on the foregoing risk assessment;
    • what activities are permissible as a part of wind down; and
    • practical impact on financial transactions involving Iran or Iranian banks, even assuming no secondary sanctions risk.
      US Withdrawal from the JCPOA

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