On May 23, 2011, President Obama issued Executive Order 13574 in order to implement certain requirements of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), as amended by the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA). On that same date, the State Department issued two related guidelines on providing jet fuel to the government of Iran, and insurance to entities that ship refined petroleum to Iran.
The State Department has designated the Army of Islam aka Jaish al-Islam aka Jaysh al-Islam as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended, and as a Foreign Terrorist Organization pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. The SD Global Terrorist designation notice is available here. The Foreign Terrorist Organization designation notice is available here. The Office of Foreign Assets Control has also updated its Specially Designated Nationals list to include the Army of Islam.
The Office of Foreign Assets Controls announces the designation pursuant to Executive Order 13382 of Bank of Industry and Mine (BIM), an Iranian state-owned bank used by the Government of Iran to evade U.S. and international sanctions against Iranian financial institutions involved in facilitating transactions in support of Iran’s proliferation activities. EO 13382 is aimed at freezing the assets of proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their supporters, thereby isolating them from the U.S. financial and commercial systems. OFAC has also updated its Specially Designated Nationals list to include this designation.
On May 18, 2011, President Obama issued Executive Order 13573, which expands upon EOs 13572, 13338, 13399, and 13460 by, among other things, blocking the property and interests in property of additional persons, including the President and Vice President of the Syrian Arab Republic, as President Obama has determined that the continuing escalation of violence against the people of Syria warrants the imposition of additional sanctions. The EO is available here. The President's letter to Congress is available here. The Office of Foreign Assets Control's update to its Specially Designated National list is available here. The Federal Register publication of EO 13573 is available here.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is publishing in the Federal Register the names of three entities identified on May 5, 2011 as persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to Section 2 of Executive Order 13566, “Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Libya": Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation of Libya; Dalia Advisory Ltd. of the United Kingdom; and Lafico Algeria Holdings of Algeria.
The State Department has designated Badruddin Haqqani aka Atiqullah of Pakistan as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended. The Office of Foreign Assets Controls has also updated its Specially Designated Nationals list to include this designation.
During a May 13, 2011 speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Congressional and Administration officials discussed the Administration’s Africa trade and investment policy.
On May 12, 2011, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held the first in a series of hearings on U.S. export controls at which Administration officials provided an update on their efforts to implement the Administration’s Export Control Reform Initiative, including agencies becoming operational on USXPORTS and efforts to increase enforcement overseas.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is publishing additional identifying information associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-QODS Force and the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate, as well as three individuals, which are listed in the Annex to Executive Order 13572, “Blocking Property of Certain Persons With Respect to Human Rights Abuses in Syria,” whose property and interests in property are therefore blocked.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has released its 2010 annual report to certain Congressional committees, "Assets in the United States of Terrorist Countries and International Terrorism Program Designees," which includes figures for blocked funds in the U.S. relating to international terrorist organizations and state sponsors of terrorism; and non-blocked funds relating to Iran and Syria.