U.S. Exempts Japan, 10 EU Countries from Iran Oil-Related Sanctions
The U.S. exempted Japan and 10 European Union countries for 180 days from sanctions aimed at punishing countries that continue to buy oil from Iran. A March 20 statement from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Japan, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the U.K. have significantly reduced their volume of crude oil purchases from Iran and, as a result, she will report to Congress that sanctions under Section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2012 will not apply to the financial institutions based in those countries for a renewable period of 180 days. The NDAA provides for the imposition of sanctions with respect to the Central Bank of Iran and designated Iranian financial institutions.
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(See ITT’s Online Archives 12022703 for summary of Office of Foreign Assets Control final rule amending the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations (OFAC) and reissuing them in their entirety, in order to, among other things, implement section 1245(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2012 .)