US sanctions against Iran

US sanctions against Iran refer to economic, trade, scientific and military sanctions against Iran, which have been imposed by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, or by the international community under U.S. pressure through the United Nations Security Council. Currently, the sanctions include an embargo on dealings with Iran by the United States, and a ban on selling aircraft and repair parts to Iranian aviation companies.

In 1979, after the U.S. permitted the exiled Shah of Iran to enter the United States for medical treatment, a group of radical students took action in Tehran by seizing the American Embassy and taking hostage the people inside. The United States responded and President Carter issued Executive Order in November 1979 freezing about $12 billion in Iranian assets, including bank deposits, gold and other properties. Some assets — Iranian officials say $10 billion, U.S. officials say much less — still remain frozen pending resolution of legal claims arising from the revolution.

After the invasion of Iran by Iraq, the United States increased sanctions against Iran. In 1984, sanctions were approved that prohibit weapons sales and all U.S. assistance to Iran The Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) that is the basis of the current sanctions against Iran is a revised version of the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) that was signed on 5 August 1996 (H.R. 3107, P.L. 104-172). The act was renamed in 2006 when the sanctions against Libya were terminated.

On 31 July 2013, members of the United States House of Representatives voted 400 to 20 in favor of toughened sanctions.

The term of President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was marked by some of the toughest sanctions against Iran. In March 1995, President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order prohibiting U.S. trade in Iran's oil industry. In May 1995, President Clinton issued Executive Order prohibiting any U.S. trade with Iran. Trade with the United States, which had been growing following the end of the Iran–Iraq War, ended abruptly.

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