Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015

8/9/2019 Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015

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MRW15094 S.L.C.

114TH CONGRESS1ST SESSION S.

llTo expand sanctions imposed with respect to Iran and to impose additional

sanctions with respect to Iran, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

llllllllll

Mr. KIRK (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. SCHUMER, Ms.AYOTTE, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. COATS, Mr. PETERS, Mr. RUBIO, Mr.

MANCHIN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. CASEY, Mr.

BURR, and Mr. BLUNT) introduced the following bill; which was read

twice and referred to the Committee on llllllllll

A BILL

To expand sanctions imposed with respect to Iran and to

impose additional sanctions with respect to Iran, and

for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1

tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,2

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.3

(a) SHORT TITLE.This Act may be cited as the4

Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015.5

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.The table of contents for6

this Act is as follows:7

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Definitions.


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Sec. 3. Sense of Congress.

TITLE ICONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGREEMENTS WITH,

ECONOMIC SANCTIONS RELIEF PROVIDED TO, IRAN

Sec. 101. Transmission to Congress of agreements with Iran and assessment

reports with respect to such agreements.

Sec. 102. Period for review by Congress of long-term comprehensive solution.

TITLE IIEXPANSION AND IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS

Sec. 201. Effective dates for staged imposition of sanctions if long-term com-

prehensive solution not reached.

Sec. 202. Termination of suspension of sanctions.

Sec. 203. Applicability of sanctions with respect to petroleum transactions.

Sec. 204. Ineligibility for exception to certain sanctions for countries that do

not reduce purchases of petroleum from Iran or of Iranian ori-

gin to a de minimis level.

Sec. 205. Identification of, and imposition of sanctions with respect to, certain

Iranian individuals.

Sec. 206. Imposition of sanctions with respect to transactions in foreign cur-rencies with or for certain sanctioned persons.

Sec. 207. Imposition of sanctions with respect to ports, special economic zones,

and strategic sectors of Iran.

Sec. 208. Waiver of sanctions.

TITLE IIIGENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. Exception for Afghanistan reconstruction.

Sec. 302. Exception for import restrictions.

Sec. 303. Applicability to certain intelligence activities.

Sec. 304. Applicability to certain natural gas projects.

Sec. 305. Rule of construction with respect to the use of force against Iran.

Sec. 306. Sense of Congress on increased staffing for agencies involved in theimplementation and enforcement of sanctions against Iran.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.1

In this Act:2

(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT-3

TEES.The term appropriate congressional com-4

mittees has the meaning given that term in section5

14 of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law6

104172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note).7

(2) JOINT PLAN OF ACTION.The term Joint8

Plan of Action9


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(A) means the Joint Plan of Action, signed1

at Geneva November 24, 2013, by Iran and the2

P5-plus-1 countries; and3

(B) includes all implementing materials4

and agreements related to the Joint Plan of Ac-5

tion, including the technical understandings6

reached on January 12, 2014, the extension7

agreed to on July 19, 2014, the extension8

agreed to on November 24, 2014, and any ex-9

tension that is agreed to on or after the date10

of the enactment of this Act and is transmitted11

to the appropriate congressional committees12

pursuant to section 101.13

(3) LONG-TERM COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION.14

The term long-term comprehensive solution means15

any comprehensive agreement, including a frame-16

work agreement or political agreement, regarding17

the nuclear program of Iran as described in the18

Joint Plan of Action, without regard to whether or19

not one or more countries other than the United20

States and Iran are parties to the agreement, and21

all implementing materials and technical under-22

standings related to that comprehensive agreement.23

(4) P5-PLUS-1 COUNTRIES.The term P5-24

plus-1 countries means the United States, France,25


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the Russian Federation, the Peoples Republic of1

China, the United Kingdom, and Germany.2

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.3

It is the sense of Congress that4

(1) it is the policy of the United States that the5

Government of Iran will not be allowed to develop or6

otherwise acquire a nuclear weapon capability;7

(2) all instruments of power and influence of8

the United States should remain on the table to pre-9

vent the Government of Iran from developing or oth-10

erwise acquiring a nuclear weapon capability;11

(3) a long-term comprehensive solution with12

Iran will be most sustainable over the long term if13

the President consults and coordinates closely with14

Congress to implement a strategy that decisively15

ends any nuclear threat from Iran;16

(4) the Government of Iran does not have an17

absolute or inherent right to enrichment and reproc-18

essing capabilities and technologies under the Treaty19

on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, done20

at Washington, London, and Moscow July 1, 1968,21

and entered into force March 5, 1970 (commonly re-22

ferred to as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Trea-23

ty);24


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(5) the goal of international negotiations with1

Iran, led by the United States, should be to conclude2

a long-term comprehensive solution with parameters3

that will4

(A) reverse the development of Irans illicit5

nuclear infrastructure, including enrichment6

and reprocessing capabilities and facilities, the7

heavy water reactor and production plant at8

Arak, and any nuclear weapon components and9

technology, such that Iran is precluded from a10

nuclear breakout capability and prevented from11

pursuing both uranium and plutonium path-12

ways to a nuclear weapon;13

(B) bring Iran into compliance with all14

United Nations Security Council resolutions re-15

lated to Irans nuclear program, including Reso-16

lutions 1696 (2006), 1737 (2006), 174717

(2007), 1803 (2008), 1835 (2008), and 192918

(2010), with a view toward bringing to a satis-19

factory conclusion the Security Councils consid-20

eration of matters relating to the nuclear pro-21

gram of Iran;22

(C) resolve all issues of past and present23

concern with the International Atomic Energy24

Agency, including possible military dimensions25


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of the nuclear program of Iran, and give inspec-1

tors access to personnel, documents, and facili-2

ties involved, at any point, with nuclear or nu-3

clear weapons-related activities of Iran;4

(D) permit on-site and short-notice inspec-5

tion, verification, and monitoring of all declared6

and suspect facilities in Iran, including installa-7

tion and use of any compliance verification8

equipment requested by the International Atom-9

ic Energy Agency, such that any effort by Iran10

to produce a nuclear weapon will be quickly de-11

tected;12

(E) require that Iran fully implement and13

comply with14

(i) the Agreement between Iran and15

the International Atomic Energy Agency16

for the Application of Safeguards in Con-17

nection with the Treaty on the Non-Pro-18

liferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at Vi-19

enna June 19, 1973 (commonly referred to20

as the Comprehensive Safeguards Agree-21

ment);22

(ii) modified Code 3.1 of the Sub-23

sidiary Arrangements to the Agreement be-24

tween Iran and the International Atomic25


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Energy Agency for the Application of Safe-1

guards in Connection with the Treaty on2

the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons;3

and4

(iii) ratification and implementation of5

the Protocol Additional to the Agreement6

between Iran and the International Atomic7

Energy Agency for the Application of Safe-8

guards in Connection with the Treaty on9

the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,10

done at Vienna December 18, 2003 (com-11

monly referred to as the Additional Pro-12

tocol); and13

(F) require that Iran implement measures14

in addition to the Additional Protocol that in-15

clude verification by the International Atomic16

Energy Agency of Irans centrifuge research,17

development, and manufacturing facilities, in-18

cluding raw materials and components, and19

Irans uranium mines, mills, and processing fa-20

cilities;21

(6) the United States should continue to impose22

sanctions on the Government of Iran and its proxies23

for their continuing sponsorship of terrorism;24


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sanctions on the Government of Iran and Iranian2

persons for3

(A) ongoing abuses of human rights; and4

(B) actions in support of the regime of5

Bashar al-Assad in Syria; and6


sanctions on the Government of Iran and other gov-8

ernments and persons for the procurement, sale, or9

transfer of technology, services, or goods that sup-10

port the development or acquisition of weapons of11

mass destruction or the means of delivery of those12

weapons.13

TITLE ICONGRESSIONAL RE-14

VIEW OF AGREEMENTS WITH,15

ECONOMIC SANCTIONS RE-16

LIEF PROVIDED TO, IRAN17

SEC. 101. TRANSMISSION TO CONGRESS OF AGREEMENTS18

WITH IRAN AND ASSESSMENT REPORTS WITH19

RESPECT TO SUCH AGREEMENTS.20

(a) TRANSMISSION OF AGREEMENTS.Not later21

than 5 days after entering into a long-term comprehensive22

solution or any agreement to extend the Joint Plan of Ac-23

tion entered into after the date of the enactment of this24


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Act, the President shall transmit to the appropriate con-1

gressional committees2

(1) the text of the agreement;3

(2) a verification assessment report of the Sec-4

retary of State prepared under subsection (b) with5

respect to the agreement; and6

(3) an economic sanctions relief assessment re-7

port of the Secretary of the Treasury prepared8

under subsection (c) with respect to the agreement.9

(b) VERIFICATIONASSESSMENT REPORT.10

(1) IN GENERAL.The Secretary of State shall,11

in consultation with the Director of National Intel-12

ligence, prepare, with respect to each agreement de-13

scribed in subsection (a), a report assessing the ex-14

tent to which the Secretary will be able to verify that15

Iran is complying with its obligations under the16

agreement.17

(2) ASSUMPTIONS.In preparing a report18

under paragraph (1) with respect to an agreement19

described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall as-20

sume that Iran could21

(A) use all measures not expressly prohib-22

ited by the agreement to conceal activities that23

violate its obligations under the agreement; and24


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(B) alter or deviate from standard prac-1

tices in order to impede efforts to verify that2

Iran is complying with those obligations.3

(c) ECONOMIC SANCTIONS RELIEFASSESSMENT RE-4

PORT.The Secretary of the Treasury shall, in consulta-5

tion with the Director of National Intelligence, prepare,6

with respect to each agreement described in subsection7

(a), a report assessing the extent to which the economy8

of Iran9

(1) has, as of the date of the report, directly10

and indirectly benefited from sanctions relief pursu-11

ant to the Joint Plan of Action; and12

(2) is likely, over the course of the agreement,13

to directly and indirectly benefit from proposed sanc-14

tions relief, including enhanced trade and market15

opportunities, pursuant to the agreement.16

(d) FORM OF REPORTS.Each report under sub-17

section (b) or (c) shall be transmitted in unclassified form,18

but may include a classified annex.19

SEC. 102. PERIOD FOR REVIEW BY CONGRESS OF LONG-20

TERM COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION.21

(a) TRANSMISSION OF LONG-TERM COMPREHENSIVE22

SOLUTION.23

(1) IN GENERAL.After transmitting a long-24

term comprehensive solution and the assessment re-25


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ports under section 101(a), the President shall not1

exercise any waiver authority provided under any2

provision of law imposing sanctions with respect to3

Iran, refrain from applying any such sanctions, or4

take any other action to alter or limit the application5

of sanctions in connection with or to implement the6

long-term comprehensive solution, until the date that7

is 30 days of continuous session of Congress after8

the President transmits the long-term comprehensive9

solution and the assessment reports.10

(2) EXCEPTION.The prohibition under para-11

graph (1) does not apply to a renewal of any defer-12

ral, waiver, or other suspension of sanctions pursu-13

ant to the Joint Plan of Action if that deferral,14

waiver, or other suspension is made15

(A) consistent with the law in effect on the16

date of the enactment of this Act; and17

(B) not later than 45 days before the18

transmission by the President of the long-term19

comprehensive solution and the assessment re-20

ports under section 101(a).21

(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.The President22

shall not construe this subsection to allow any new23

deferral, waiver, or other suspension of sanctions24


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(4) by October 5, 2015, the provisions of and1

amendments made by section 205 shall take effect;2

(5) by November 2, 2015, the provisions of and3

amendments made by section 206 shall take effect;4

and5

(6) by December 7, 2015, the provisions of and6

amendments made by section 207 shall take effect.7

SEC. 202. TERMINATION OF SUSPENSION OF SANCTIONS.8

Any sanctions imposed pursuant to statute or execu-9

tive action that are deferred, waived, or otherwise sus-10

pended by the President before the date of the enactment11

of this Act pursuant to the Joint Plan of Action shall be12

reinstated on the effective date specified in section 201(1).13

SEC. 203. APPLICABILITY OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO14

PETROLEUM TRANSACTIONS.15

(a) IN GENERAL.Section 1245(d)(4)(D)(i) of the16

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 201217

(22 U.S.C. 8513a(d)(4)(D)(i)) is amended18

(1) in subclause (I), by striking reduced re-19

duced its volume of crude oil purchases from Iran20

and inserting reduced the volume of its purchases21

of petroleum from Iran or of Iranian origin; and22

(2) in subclause (II), by striking crude oil pur-23

chases from Iran and inserting purchases of pe-24

troleum from Iran or of Iranian origin.25


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(b) DEFINITIONS.Section 1245(h) of the National1

Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (222

U.S.C. 8513a(h)) is amended3

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as4

paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and5

(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-6

lowing:7

(3) IRANIAN ORIGIN.The term Iranian ori-8

gin, with respect to petroleum, means extracted,9

produced, or refined in Iran.10

(4) PETROLEUM.The term petroleum in-11

cludes crude oil, lease condensates, plant conden-12

sates, fuel oils, other unfinished oils, liquefied petro-13

leum gases, and other petroleum products..14

(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.Section 102(b) of15

the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act16

of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8712(b)) is amended17

(1) in paragraph (3)18

(A) by striking crude oil purchases from19

Iran and inserting purchases of petroleum20

from Iran or of Iranian origin; and21

(B) by striking as amended by section22

504,; and23


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(2) in paragraph (4), by striking crude oil pur-1

chases and inserting purchases of petroleum from2

Iran or of Iranian origin.3

(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.The amendments made by4

this section shall apply with respect to determinations5

under section 1245(d)(4)(D)(i) of the National Defense6

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C.7

8513a(d)(4)(D)(i)) on or after the effective date specified8

in section 201(2).9

SEC. 204. INELIGIBILITY FOR EXCEPTION TO CERTAIN10

SANCTIONS FOR COUNTRIES THAT DO NOT11

REDUCE PURCHASES OF PETROLEUM FROM12

IRAN OR OF IRANIAN ORIGIN TO A DE MINI-13

MIS LEVEL.14

(a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.It shall be the policy15

of the United States to seek to ensure that all countries16

reduce their purchases of crude oil, lease condensates, fuel17

oils, and other unfinished oils from Iran or of Iranian ori-18

gin to a de minimis level by the end of the 240-day period19

beginning on the effective date specified in section 201(3).20

(b) INELIGIBILITY FOR EXCEPTIONS TO SANC-21

TIONS.Section 1245(d)(4)(D) of the National Defense22

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C.23

8513a(d)(4)(D)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-24

lowing:25


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(iii) INELIGIBILITY FOR EXCEP-1

TION.2

(I) IN GENERAL.A country3

that purchased petroleum from Iran4

or of Iranian origin during the one-5

year period preceding the effective6

date specified in section 201(3) of the7

Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of8

2015 may continue to receive an ex-9

ception under clause (i) on or after10

the date that is 240 days after such11

effective date only12

(aa) if the country reduces13

its purchases of petroleum from14

Iran or of Iranian origin to a de15

minimis level by the end of the16

240-day period beginning on such17

effective date; or18

(bb) as provided in sub-19

clause (II) or (III).20

(II) COUNTRIES THAT DRA -21

MATICALLY REDUCE PURCHASES.22

(aa) IN GENERAL.A23

country that would otherwise be24

ineligible pursuant to subclause25


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(I)(aa) to receive an exception1

under clause (i) may continue to2

receive such an exception during3

the one-year period beginning on4

the date that is 240 days after5

the effective date specified in sec-6

tion 201(3) of the Nuclear Weap-7

on Free Iran Act of 2015 if the8

country9

(AA) dramatically re-10

duces by at least 30 percent11

its purchases of petroleum12

from Iran or of Iranian ori-13

gin during the 240-day pe-14

riod beginning on such effec-15

tive date, as compared to its16

average monthly purchases17

of such petroleum during18

calendar year 2014; and19

(BB) is expected to20

reduce its purchases of pe-21

troleum from Iran or of Ira-22

nian origin to a de minimis23

level within a defined period24

of time that is not longer25


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than 2 years after such ef-1

fective date.2

(bb) TERMINATION OF EX-3

CEPTION.If a country that con-4

tinues to receive an exception5

under clause (i) pursuant to item6

(aa) does not reduce its pur-7

chases of petroleum from Iran or8

of Iranian origin to a de minimis9

level by the date that is 2 years10

after the effective date specified11

in section 201(3) of the Nuclear12

Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015,13

that country shall not be eligible14

for an exception under clause (i)15

on or after the date that is 216

years after such effective date.17

(III) REINSTATEMENT OF ELI-18

GIBILITY FOR EXCEPTION.A country19

that becomes ineligible for an excep-20

tion under clause (i) pursuant to sub-21

clause (I) or (II) shall be eligible for22

such an exception in accordance with23

the provisions of clause (i) on and24

after the date on which the President25


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determines the country has reduced1

its purchases of petroleum from Iran2

or of Iranian origin to a de minimis3

level..4

(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.Section5

1245(d)(4)(D)(i) of the National Defense Authorization6

Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a(d)(4)(D)(i))7

is amended in the matter preceding subclause (I) by strik-8

ing Sanctions imposed and inserting Except as pro-9

vided in clause (iii), sanctions imposed.10

SEC. 205. IDENTIFICATION OF, AND IMPOSITION OF SANC-11

TIONS WITH RESPECT TO, CERTAIN IRANIAN12

INDIVIDUALS.13

(a) EXPANSION OF INDIVIDUALS IDENTIFIED.Sec-14

tion 221(a) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria15

Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8727(a)) is amend-16

ed17

(1) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ; or and18

inserting a semicolon;19

(2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at20

the end and inserting a semicolon; and21

(3) by adding at the end the following:22

(3) an individual who engages in activities for23

or on behalf of the Government of Iran that enables24


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Iran to evade sanctions imposed by the United1

States with respect to Iran;2

(4) an individual acting on behalf of the Gov-3

ernment of Iran who is involved in corrupt activities4

of that Government or the diversion of humanitarian5

goods, including agricultural commodities, food,6

medicine, and medical devices, intended for the peo-7

ple of Iran; or8

(5) a senior official9

(A) of an entity designated for the impo-10

sition of sanctions pursuant to the International11

Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C.12

1701 et seq.) in connection with13

(i) Irans illicit nuclear activities or14

proliferation of weapons of mass destruc-15

tion or delivery systems for weapons of16

mass destruction; or17

(ii) Irans support for acts of inter-18

national terrorism; and19

(B) who was involved in the activity for20

which the entity was designated for the imposi-21

tion of sanctions..22

(b) EXPANSION OF SENIOR OFFICIALS DE-23

SCRIBED.Section 221(b) of the Iran Threat Reduction24


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and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8727(b))1

is amended2

(1) in paragraph (5), by striking ; or and in-3

serting a semicolon;4

(2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at5

the end and inserting ; or; and6


(7) a senior official of8

(A) the Office of the Supreme Leader of9

Iran;10

(B) the Atomic Energy Organization of11

Iran;12

(C) the Islamic Consultative Assembly of13

Iran;14

(D) the Council of Ministers of Iran;15

(E) the Ministry of Defense and Armed16

Forces Logistics of Iran;17

(F) the Ministry of Justice of Iran;18

(G) the Ministry of Interior of Iran;19

(H) the prison system of Iran; or20

(I) the judicial system of Iran..21

(c) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.Section 221 of the22

Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of23

2012 (22 U.S.C. 8727) is amended24


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(1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as1

subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and2

(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-3

lowing:4

(d) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.5

(1) OFFICIALS AND OTHER ACTORS.In the6

case of an individual described in paragraph (1), (3),7

(4), or (5) of subsection (a) who is on the list re-8

quired by that subsection, the President shall block9

and prohibit all transactions in all property and in-10

terests in property of that individual if such property11

or interests in property are in the United States,12

come within the United States, or are or come with-13

in the possession or control of a United States per-14

son.15

(2) FAMILY MEMBERS.In the case of an in-16

dividual described in paragraph (2) of subsection (a)17

who is on the list required by that subsection, the18

President shall block and prohibit a transaction in19

property or an interest in property of that individual20

if the property or interest in property21

(A) was transferred to that individual22

from an individual described in paragraph (1)23

of subsection (a) who is on the list required by24

that subsection; and25


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(B) is in the United States, comes within1

the United States, or is or comes within the2

possession or control of a United States per-3

son..4

(d) CONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.Section 221 of the5


2012 (22 U.S.C. 8727), as amended by subsections (a),7

(b), and (c), is further amended8

(1) by striking the section heading and insert-9

ing IDENTIFICATION OF, AND IMPOSITION OF10

SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO, CERTAIN IRA-11

NIAN INDIVIDUALS;12

(2) in subsection (a), by striking Not later13

than 180 days after the date of the enactment of14

this Act and inserting Not later than 90 days15

after the effective date specified in section 201(4) of16

the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015; and17

(3) in subsection (c), by striking subsection18

(d) and inserting subsection (e).19

(e) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.The table of contents20

for the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights21

Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701 et seq.) is amended by strik-22

ing the item relating to section 221 and inserting the fol-23

lowing:24

Sec. 221. Identification of, and imposition of sanctions with respect to, certain

Iranian individuals..


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SEC. 206. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO1

TRANSACTIONS IN FOREIGN CURRENCIES2

WITH OR FOR CERTAIN SANCTIONED PER-3

SONS.4

(a) IN GENERAL.Title II of the Iran Threat Reduc-5

tion and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C.6

8721 et seq.) is amended7

(1) by inserting after section 221 the following:8

Subtitle COther Matters;9

(2) by redesignating sections 222, 223, and 22410

as sections 231, 232, and 233, respectively; and11

(3) by inserting after section 221 the following:12


TRANSACTIONS IN FOREIGN CURRENCIES14

WITH CERTAIN SANCTIONED PERSONS.15

(a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.The President16

(1) shall prohibit the opening, and prohibit or17

impose strict conditions on the maintaining, in the18

United States of a correspondent account or a pay-19

able-through account by a foreign financial institu-20

tion that knowingly conducts or facilitates a trans-21

action described in subsection (b)(1); and22

(2) may impose sanctions pursuant to the23

International Emergency Economic Powers Act (5024

U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) with respect to any other per-25


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son that knowingly conducts or facilitates such a1

transaction.2

(b) TRANSACTIONS DESCRIBED.3

(1) IN GENERAL.A transaction described in4

this subsection is a significant transaction conducted5

or facilitated by a person related to the currency of6

a country other than the country with primary juris-7

diction over the person with, for, or on behalf of8

(A) the Central Bank of Iran or an Ira-9

nian financial institution designated by the Sec-10

retary of the Treasury for the imposition of11

sanctions pursuant to the International Emer-12

gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et13

seq.); or14

(B) a person described in section15

1244(c)(2) of the Iran Freedom and Counter-16

Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C.17

8803(c)(2)) (other than a person described in18

subparagraph (C)(iii) of that section).19

(2) PRIMARY JURISDICTION.For purposes of20

paragraph (1), a country in which a person operates21

shall be deemed to have primary jurisdiction over22

the person only with respect to the operations of the23

person in that country.24


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(c) APPLICABILITY.Subsection (a) shall apply1

with respect to a transaction described in subsection2

(b)(1) conducted or facilitated3

(1) on or after the effective date specified in4

section 201(5) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act5

of 2015 pursuant to a contract entered into on or6

after such effective date; and7

(2) on or after the date that is 90 days after8

such effective date pursuant to a contract entered9

into before such effective date.10

(d) INAPPLICABILITY TO HUMANITARIAN TRANS-11

ACTIONS.The President may not impose sanctions under12

subsection (a) with respect to any person for conducting13

or facilitating a transaction for the sale of agricultural14

commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices to Iran or15

for the provision of humanitarian assistance to the people16

of Iran.17

(e) WAIVER.18

(1) IN GENERAL.The President may waive19

the application of subsection (a) with respect to a20

person for a period of not more than 180 days, and21

may renew that waiver for additional periods of not22

more than 180 days, if the President23


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MRW15094 S.L.C.

(A) determines that the waiver is impor-1

tant to the national interest of the United2

States; and3

(B) not less than 15 days after the waiver4

or the renewal of the waiver, as the case may5

be, takes effect, submits a report to the appro-6

priate congressional committees on the waiver7

and the reason for the waiver.8

(2) FORM OF REPORT.Each report sub-9

mitted under paragraph (1)(B) shall be submitted in10

unclassified form but may contain a classified annex.11

(f) DEFINITIONS.In this section:12

(1) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION; IRANIAN FINAN-13

CIAL INSTITUTION.The terms financial institution14

and Iranian financial institution have the meanings15

given those terms in section 104A(d) of the Com-16

prehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Di-17

vestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8513b(d)).18

(2) TRANSACTION.The term transaction in-19

cludes a foreign exchange swap, a foreign exchange20

forward, and any other type of currency exchange or21

conversion or derivative instrument..22

(b) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.Section 2 of the23


2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701) is amended25


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MRW15094 S.L.C.

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and1

(4) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (9), respectively;2

(2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the3

following:4

(1) ACCOUNT; CORRESPONDENT ACCOUNT;5

PAYABLE-THROUGH ACCOUNT.The terms ac-6

count, correspondent account, and payable-7

through account have the meanings given those8

terms in section 5318A of title 31, United States9

Code.10

(2) AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY.The term11

agricultural commodity has the meaning given that12

term in section 102 of the Agricultural Trade Act of13

1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602).14

(3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT-15

TEES.The term appropriate congressional com-16

mittees has the meaning given that term in section17

14 of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law18

104172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note).19

(4) DOMESTIC FINANCIAL INSTITUTION; FOR-20

EIGN FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.The terms domes-21

tic financial institution and foreign financial insti-22

tution have the meanings determined by the Sec-23

retary of the Treasury pursuant to section 104(i) of24

the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability,25


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MRW15094 S.L.C.

and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8513(i)).;1

and2

(3) by inserting after paragraph (6), as redesig-3

nated by paragraph (1), the following:4

(7) MEDICAL DEVICE.The term medical de-5

vice has the meaning given the term device in sec-6

tion 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic7

Act (21 U.S.C. 321).8

(8) MEDICINE.The term medicine has the9

meaning given the term drug in section 201 of the10

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C.11

321)..12

(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.The table of contents13

for the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights14

Act of 2012 is amended by striking the items relating to15

sections 222, 223, and 224 and inserting the following:16

Sec. 222. Imposition of sanctions with respect to transactions in foreign cur-

rencies with certain sanctioned persons.

Subtitle COther Matters

Sec. 231. Sense of Congress and rule of construction relating to certain au-

thorities of State and local governments.

Sec. 232. Government Accountability Office report on foreign entities that in-

vest in the energy sector of Iran or export refined petroleum

products to Iran.

Sec. 233. Reporting on the importation to and exportation from Iran of crudeoil and refined petroleum products..


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MRW15094 S.L.C.


PORTS, SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES, AND2

STRATEGIC SECTORS OF IRAN.3

(a) FINDINGS.Section 1244(a)(1) of the Iran Free-4

dom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C.5

8803(a)(1)) is amended by striking and shipbuilding6

and inserting shipbuilding, automotive, construction, en-7

gineering, and mining.8

(b) EXPANSION OF DESIGNATION OF ENTITIES OF9

PROLIFERATION CONCERN.Section 1244(b) of the Iran10

Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (2211

U.S.C. 8803(b)) is amended by striking in Iran and enti-12

ties in the energy, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors and13

inserting , special economic zones, or free economic zones14

in Iran, and entities in strategic sectors.15

(c) EXPANSION OF ENTITIES SUBJECT TO BLOCKING16

OF PROPERTY.Section 1244(c) of the Iran Freedom and17

Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8803(c)) is18

amended19

(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking the date20

that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of21

this Act and inserting the effective date specified22

in section 201(6) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran23

Act of 2015; and24

(2) in paragraph (2)25


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MRW15094 S.L.C.

(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph1

(A), by striking the date that is 180 days after2

the date of the enactment of this Act and in-3

serting the effective date specified in section4

201(6) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of5

2015;6

(B) by striking the energy, shipping, or7

shipbuilding sectors each place it appears and8

inserting a strategic sector; and9

(C) by inserting , special economic zone,10

or free economic zone after port each place11

it appears; and12


(4) STRATEGIC SECTOR DEFINED.14

(A) IN GENERAL.In this section, the15

term strategic sector means16

(i) the energy, shipping, ship-17

building, automotive, and mining sectors of18

Iran;19

(ii) except as provided in subpara-20

graph (B), the construction and engineer-21

ing sectors of Iran; and22

(iii) any other sector the President23

designates as of strategic importance to24

Iran.25


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MRW15094 S.L.C.

(B) EXCEPTION FOR CONSTRUCTION AND1

ENGINEERING OF SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, AND2

SIMILAR FACILITIES.For purposes of this sec-3

tion, a project to construct or engineer a school,4

hospital, or similar facility (as determined by5

the President) shall not be considered part of a6

strategic sector of Iran.7

(C) NOTIFICATION OF STRATEGIC SEC-8

TOR DESIGNATION.The President shall sub-9

mit to Congress a notification of the designa-10

tion of a sector as a strategic sector of Iran for11

purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii) not later than12

5 days after the date on which the President13

makes the designation..14

(d) ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO15

STRATEGIC SECTORS.Section 1244(d) of the Iran Free-16

dom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C.17

8803(d)) is amended18

(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking the date19

that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of20

this Act and inserting the effective date specified21

in section 201(6) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran22

Act of 2015;23

(2) in paragraph (2), by striking the date that24

is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this25


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34

MRW15094 S.L.C.

section 201(6) of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act1

of 2015.2

(f) PROVISION OF INSURANCE TO SANCTIONED PER-3

SONS.Section 1246(a)(1) of the Iran Freedom and4

Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8805(a)(1))5

is amended6

(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A),7

by striking the date that is 180 days after the date8

of the enactment of this Act and inserting the ef-9

fective date specified in section 201(6) of the Nu-10

clear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015; and11

(2) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking the en-12

ergy, shipping, or shipbuilding sectors and insert-13

ing a strategic sector (as defined in section14

1244(c)(4)).15

(g) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.Section 1244 of16

the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 201217

(22 U.S.C. 8803), as amended by subsections (a), (b), (c),18

and (d), is further amended19

(1) in the section heading, by striking THE20

ENERGY, SHIPPING, AND SHIPBUILDING and21

inserting CERTAIN PORTS, ECONOMIC ZONES,22

AND;23

(2) in subsection (b), in the subsection heading,24

by striking PORTS AND ENTITIES IN THE ENERGY,25


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MRW15094 S.L.C.

SHIPPING, AND SHIPBUILDING SECTORS OF IRAN1

AS;2

(3) in subsection (c), in the subsection heading,3

by striking ENTITIES IN ENERGY, SHIPPING, AND4

SHIPBUILDING SECTORS and inserting CERTAIN5

ENTITIES; and6

(4) in subsection (d), in the subsection heading,7

by striking THE ENERGY, SHIPPING, AND SHIP-8

BUILDING and inserting STRATEGIC.9

SEC. 208. WAIVER OF SANCTIONS.10

The President may waive the application of any sanc-11

tion pursuant to a provision of or amendment made by12

this title for a 30-day period, and may renew the waiver13

for additional 30-day periods, if the President, before the14

waiver or renewal, as the case may be15

(1) certifies to the appropriate congressional16

committees that17

(A) the waiver or renewal, as the case may18

be, is in the national security interest of the19

United States;20

(B) the waiver or renewal, as the case may21

be, is necessary to and likely to result in achiev-22

ing a long-term comprehensive solution with23

Iran; and24


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36

MRW15094 S.L.C.

(C) Iran is not making further progress on1

its nuclear weapons program and is in compli-2

ance with all interim agreements with respect to3

that program; and4

(2) submits to the appropriate congressional5

committees a comprehensive report on the status of6

the negotiations toward a long-term comprehensive7

solution that includes an assessment of the likeli-8

hood of reaching that solution and the time frame9

anticipated for achieving that solution.10

TITLE IIIGENERAL11

PROVISIONS12

SEC. 301. EXCEPTION FOR AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUC-13

TION.14

The President may provide for an exception from the15

imposition of sanctions under the provisions of or amend-16

ments made by this Act for reconstruction assistance or17

economic development for Afghanistan18

(1) to the extent that the President determines19

that such an exception is in the national interest of20

the United States; and21

(2) if, not later than 15 days before issuing the22

exception, the President submits a notification of23

and justification for the exception to the appropriate24

congressional committees.25


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MRW15094 S.L.C.

SEC. 302. EXCEPTION FOR IMPORT RESTRICTIONS.1

Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this2

Act authorizes or requires the President to impose sanc-3

tions relating to the importation of goods.4

SEC. 303. APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN INTELLIGENCE AC-5

TIVITIES.6


Act shall apply to the authorized intelligence activities of8

the United States.9

SEC. 304. APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN NATURAL GAS10

PROJECTS.11


Act shall be construed to apply with respect to any activity13

relating to a project described in subsection (a) of section14

603 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human15

Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8783) to which the excep-16

tion under that section applies at the time of the activity.17

SEC. 305. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION WITH RESPECT TO THE18

USE OF FORCE AGAINST IRAN.19


Act shall be construed as a declaration of war or an au-21

thorization of the use of force against Iran.22


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MRW15094 S.L.C.

SEC. 306. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INCREASED STAFFING1

FOR AGENCIES INVOLVED IN THE IMPLEMEN-2

TATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF SANCTIONS3

AGAINST IRAN.4

It is the sense of Congress that5

(1) when the President submits the Presidents6

budget for fiscal year 2016 to Congress under sec-7

tion 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, the8

President should, in that budget, prioritize9

(A) resources for the Office of Foreign As-10

sets Control for the Department of Treasury11

dedicated to the implementation and enforce-12

ment of sanctions with respect to Iran; and13

(B) resources for the Department of State14

dedicated to the implementation and enforce-15

ment of sanctions with respect to Iran; and16

(2) the appropriate committees of the Senate17

and the House of Representatives should prioritize18

the resources described in subparagraphs (A) and19

(B) of paragraph (1) during consideration of author-20

ization and appropriations legislation in future fiscal21

years.22

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Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015

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