President Trump signed a new Executive Order on August 6, 2018, titled “Reimposing Certain Sanctions with Respect to Iran”. The Executive Order was timed to coincide with the last day of the 90-day wind-down period established for activities associated with certain sanctions relief authorized by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”).  As a result, the first round of sanctions against Iran will become effective at 12:01 a.m. on August 7, 2018.
Continue Reading United States Announces Re-imposition of First Round of Nuclear Sanctions on Iran

Today, President Trump officially signed H.R. 3364, the “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act” (CAATSA) into law. CAATSA originated as a bill which was focused on only Iran. However, partially in response to Russian cyber-interference with the 2016 election, the Senate expanded CAATSA to impose additional sanctions against Russia and also codify into law various sanctions imposed by the Obama Administration in the form of Executive Orders. The House of Representatives then approved these additions and added further sanctions against North Korea. Eventually, the House and Senate approved the final version of CAATSA by a margin of 419-3 and 98-2, respectively. For additional detail on CAATSA’s legislative history, please see our previous alerts here, here and here.
Continue Reading President Signs Russian, Iran and North Korea Sanctions Legislation into Law

Yesterday, July 25th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act” by a vote of 419-3. The bill originated as an act in the Senate which was focused on Iran. In response to Russian meddling in the U.S. election, the Senate expanded that bill to include additional sanctions against Russia, codify various Russia-Ukraine sanctions promulgated by the Obama Administration into law and add procedural provisions to delay or prevent any efforts by the Trump Administration to relax those codified Obama Administration sanctions. The Senate passed their revised version of this legislation last month by a vote of 98-2. For more information on the Senate’s earlier approval, please see our post on June 16th.
Continue Reading Congress Passes Russian Sanctions Bill with New Sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea

On July 14, 2015, following nearly twenty months of talks, international negotiators from seven countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France, Germany, Russia, and Iran) announced that they reached a landmark nuclear agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program. While this is a historic agreement long in the making, it is important to note that there is no immediate lifting of sanctions against Iran. U.S. government officials have indicated that for now it is status quo for those focused on sanctions compliance.
Continue Reading Iran and World Powers Announce Landmark Nuclear Agreement

While Iran has taken center stage in current foreign policy discussions, Congress and the Administration are keenly aware that Cuba is on deck. Following President Obama’s historic meeting with Cuban President Raúl Castro and his announcement of intent to remove Cuba from the list of states that sponsor terrorism, members of Congress have responded by introducing bills both supporting and opposing the President’s policies, including:
Continue Reading Lawmakers Continue Taking Sides on Cuba while Cities Begin Taking Action