An Iranian businessman was sentenced to 46 months in prison for illegally exporting carbon fiber from the U.S. to Iran, the Justice Department said Nov. 14. Behzad Pourghannad worked with two others between 2008 and 2013 to export the carbon fiber to Iran from third countries using falsified documents and front companies, the agency said.
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A Lebanese energy equipment company was fined $368,000 by the Bureau of Industry and Security after it illegally reexported generators to Syria, according to a settlement agreement signed Nov. 27. Ghaddar Machinery allegedly committed 20 violations of the Export Administration Regulations from 2014 to 2016, totaling about $730,000 worth of exports, BIS said. Ghaddar agreed to pay the penalty in five installments through November 2021. Failure to make the payments could result in more penalties, according to the settlement agreement, including a two-year denial of export privileges.
Apple was fined about $465,000 for violations of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanctions Regulations after it hosted, sold and “facilitated the transfer” of software applications and content belonging to a sanctioned company, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a Nov. 25 notice. Apple allegedly dealt in “the property and interests” of SIS d.o.o., a Slovenian software company added to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals List in 2015.
A U.S. electronics and computer component company may have violated U.S. sanctions on Iran and Syria, the company said in a Nov. 7 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Colorado-based Arrow Electronics said a “limited number of non-executive employees … facilitated product shipment” to customers for re-export to people covered by U.S. sanctions on Iran and Syria. The transactions took place between 2015 and 2019 and were valued at about $5,000, the company said. Arrow Electronics said it voluntarily disclosed the potential violations to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls and the Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security earlier this year. It also disciplined or fired employees involved in the transactions and said it plans to “cooperate fully” with BIS and OFAC. The company said it is not able to “estimate” the potential penalty it may receive.
The United Kingdom's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation updated its Iran sanctions to correct identifying information for Mehr Bank, OFSI said Nov. 18. Mehr Bank is still subject to sanctions.
The Congressional Research Service issued a report Nov. 15 on Iran sanctions, detailing the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign and Europe’s efforts to keep trade flowing to the country, and providing an overview of the current state of restrictive measures against Iran. The report also contains an appendix of all sanctions imposed against Iran by the U.S., the United Nations, the European Union and others.
China said it opposes sanctions against Iran days after a German official suggested Europe should consider reimposing sanctions against the country for its breaches of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “It is China's consistent position that wanton use or threat of sanctions is neither constructive nor helpful to solve any problem,” a China Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Nov. 14. “Dialogue and negotiation is the real way out.”
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson was critical of the U.S.’s Nov. 4 decision to impose sanctions on Iranian military and government officials (see 1911040028), saying the U.S. should instead turn to negotiations. “China opposes unilateral sanctions and so-called ‘long-arm jurisdiction,’” the spokesperson said during a Nov. 5 press conference. “Arbitrary sanctions or threat of sanctions cannot solve problems.” The spokesperson urged the U.S. to begin a “dialogue” to “resolve disputes.” The spokesperson also said that U.S. and Chinese negotiations are progressing well and the two sides “keep in contact,” but declined to say when the next meeting will take place. “The trade talks have achieved progress and are now moving forward as planned,” he said.
The State Department imposed sanctions on Iran’s construction and nuclear sector, restricting sales of certain items, according to an Oct. 31 press release.
An Ohio man was sentenced to 20 months in prison for illegally exporting gas and oil pipeline parts to Iran for more than a decade, the Justice Department said in an Oct. 24 press release. Behrooz Behroozian used an intermediary company, Sumar Industrial Equipment, to hide the exports, which violated U.S. sanctions on Iran and the Emergency Economic Powers Act, the press release said. Behroozian allegedly exported “manifolds, valves and connectors” used in the pipelines and oil industry, earning about $40,000 per year. Behroozian also owned Dublin-based Comtech International, a self-proclaimed computer parts supplier that instead of computer parts shipped industrial equipment to Behroozian’s company in the United Arab Emirates before it was then exported to Iran.