The Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 (ILSA) was a 1996

act of the United States Congress An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws), or to the general public ( public laws). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both house ...

that imposed

economic sanction Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they may ...

s on firms doing business with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. On September 20, 2004, the President signed an

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...

to terminate the national emergency with respect to Libya and to end IEEPA-based economic sanctions on Libya. On September 30, 2006, the Act was renamed the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA). The Act was originally limited to five years, and has been extended several times. On December 1, 2016, ISA was extended for a further ten years. The Act empowers the President to waive sanctions on a case-by-case basis, which is subject to renewal every six months. As at March 2008, ISA sanctions had not been enforced against any non-US company. Despite the restrictions on American investment in Iran, FIPPA provisions apply to all foreign investors, and many Iranian expatriates based in the US continue to make substantial investments in Iran.

Background

In 1995, in response to the

Iranian nuclear program The nuclear program of Iran is an ongoing scientific effort by Iran to research nuclear technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran has several research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facilit ...

and Iranian

support Support may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Supporting character Business and finance * Support (technical analysis) * Child support * Customer support * Income Support Construction * Support (structure), or lateral support, a ...

for

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

, and

Palestine Islamic Jihad The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), known in the West simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinian Islamist par ...

, that are considered terrorist organizations by the US,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

had issued several

executive orders ''Executive Orders'' is a techno-thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and released on July 1, 1996. It picks up immediately where the final events of ''Debt of Honor'' (1994) left off, and features now-U.S. President Jack Ryan as he tries to d ...

with respect to Iran, including

Executive Order 12957 Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

of March 15, 1995, banning U.S. investment in Iran's energy sector, and

Executive Order 12959 Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

of May 6, 1995, which banned U.S. trade with and

investment Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...

in Iran.

Provisions

The Act targets both U.S. and non-U.S. business making certain investments in Iran. Under ISA, unless exempted by the president, all foreign companies that provide investments over $20 million for the development of

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

resources in Iran will be imposed two out of seven possible sanctions, by the U.S.: * denial of Export-Import Bank of the United States assistance * denial of export licenses for exports to the violating company * prohibition on loans or credits from U.S.

financial institution Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial insti ...

s of over $10 million in any 12-month period * prohibition on designation as a primary dealer for U.S. government debt instruments * prohibition on serving as an agent of the United States or as a repository for U.S. government funds * denial of U.S. government

procurement Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, Service (economics), services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agenc ...

opportunities (consistent with

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

obligations), and * a ban on all or some imports of the violating company.

Renewal and expiration

ILSA included a five-year

sunset clause In public policy, a sunset provision or sunset clause is a measure within a statute, regulation or other law that provides that the law shall cease to have effect after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend the law ...

and was to expire on August 5, 2001. In the debate in the U.S. Congress on whether ILSA should expire, some legislators argued sanctions hindered bilateral relations, and others argued they would be seen as a concession on an effective program. ILSA was renewed by the Congress and signed by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. ILSA was renewed for another five years,

Public Law Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...

107-24 until August 2006. In 2005, the Iran Freedom Support bill was introduced in both

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

to extend the provisions of ILSA indefinitely and to impose a time limit for the administration to determine whether an investment violates ILSA. The

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

legislation, H.R. 282 was introduced on January 6, 2005, was reported by

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

on March 15, 2006, and passed the House on April 26, 2006, by a vote of 397–21, with 14 not voting. The companion Senate legislation, S. 333 was introduced on February 9, 2005, was referred to the Foreign Relations Committee. The bill was not reported by the committee and died. On July 25, 2006, bill H.R. 5877, to extend ILSA until September 29, 2006, was introduced in the House, and passed the next day by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. It was passed by the Senate by

unanimous consent In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a prop ...

on July 31, and was signed into law by

on August 4, 2006. On September 30, 2006, ILSA was renamed the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), as it no longer applied to Libya, and extended until December 31, 2011. The

Iran Freedom and Support Act The Iran Freedom Support Act (, 120 Stat. 1344, , enacted September 30, 2006) is an Act of Congress that appropriated $10 million and directed the President of the United States to spend that money in support of "pro-democracy groups" opposed to th ...

passed later that year. The

Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (; CISADA) is a law passed by the U.S. Congress that applies further sanctions on the government of Iran. CISADA extended U.S. economic sanctions placed on Iran under th ...

amended the Iran Sanctions Act to expand the president's ability to punish companies aiding Iran's petroleum sector. On December 1, 2016, ISA was extended for a further ten years.

References

External links

US Treasury - Iran sanctions
{{Iran–United States relations Acts of the 104th United States Congress Acts of the 107th United States Congress Iran–United States relations United States foreign relations legislation 1996 in international relations Libya–United States relations Sanctions against Iran Sanctions against Libya Sanctions legislation United States sanctions

Background

Provisions

Renewal and expiration

See also

References

External links