Iran Sanctions: Close the Loopholes

James Phillips / December 27, 2010

The impact of U.S. sanctions against Iran and other state sponsors of terrorism have been undermined by loopholes that allow exemptions for humanitarian, agricultural and medical exports, according to a report in The New York Times. Most of the loopholes were created by a 2000 law that created exemptions for agricultural and medical exports for humanitarian purposes and resulted in $1.7 billion of U.S. exports to Iran in the last ten years. Although these exports have not directly aided Iran’s military buildup, some of the exemptions have benefited Iranian companies owned by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps or other entities linked to Iran’s repressive regime. In some cases the licensing rules failed to keep up with changing circumstances, such as when imports from North Korea were allowed when restrictions that were loosened with North Korea promised to renounce its nuclear weapons program and were not re-imposed after Pyongyang violated its pledge. (more…)