In a statement issued 12 January 2018, President Trump announced that his administration was extending the waivers of certain secondary sanctions against Iran originally adopted on implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program. Trump stated that the move not to reinstate sanctions against Iran is to allow for talks with European allies who are parties to the JCPOA to alter terms of the agreement and for the US Congress to amend the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA). That law requires the president to certify Iran’s compliance with the deal every 90 days – which Trump declined to do in October 2017 (as covered in our September/October 2017 Bulletin). Among other things, the President indicated that he will require that the Iran deal be revised to be permanent, and that it include Iran’s development of long-range missiles.

The same day, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against 14 individuals and entities in connection with human rights abuses and censorship in Iran, and support to designated Iranian weapons proliferators. The parties sanctioned include, among others, Iranian government officials, a Chinese national and certain Chinese entities found to support Iran’s military procurement.