NEWSLETTER-2019-metin

383 MISCELLANEOUS United States Economic Sanctions Regime: Iran* Att. Can Yildiz Introduction Iran has been subjected to sanctions from various countries and international organizations since the Iranian hostage crisis that took place in 1979. That being said, the restrictions significantly escalated after 2010, and the subject of economic sanctions imposed on Iran is one of the hottest topics in the international community of late. A primary concern of the international community has com- monly been that Iran’s nuclear technology should not be used for the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Following concerns that Iran was not fulfilling its international obligations, many countries responded with the imposition of comprehensive sanctions. The United States of America (US) has been the spearheading power in implementing these sanctions. In the US, initially, economic sanctions, overall, were adopted pursuant to the 1917 Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA). Modern sanctions, since the late 1970s, have largely fallen under the scope of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 1 (the “IEEPA”). The IEEPA authorizes the President to implement economic sanctions, as follows: “To deal with any usual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in the whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the Unites States, if the President declares a national emergency with respect to such threat.” (50 USC. Section 1701(a) * Article of July 2019 1 The IEEPA gave the US President the authority to regulate export and interna- tional transactions in a state of national emergency. It is a crime to violate any provision of the IEEPA.