Photo: Twitter/@Nusr-ett Amidst the public outrage and protests against Salt Bae and Nusr-Et Steakhouse, the meat slicing and salt pouring icon may have inadvertently stumbled into the world of U.S. economic sanctions, which currently target the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. While the U.S. government may investigate and enforce any applicable sanctions violations, these lamb chops […]

With the first wave of reinstated sanctions hitting Iran on August 7, 2018, German carmaker Daimler froze its plans to expand into the Iranian market. Daimler, the world’s biggest luxury carmaker and commercial vehicles manufacturer, has reversed its 2016 plans to re-establish ties with Iran’s automotive industry. In 2016 Daimler established a joint venture with […]

On August 7, 2018, the U.S. reinstated the first wave of sanctions against Iran as the 90-day wind-down period concluded. The Trump administration reimposed sanctions that prohibit Iran purchasing U.S. banknotes, commercial aircraft, trading gold and metals, and business with Iran’s automotive sector. The snapback provisions were evoked by President Trump’s May 8, 2018 decision […]

There has been much controversy surrounding Nike’s decision to not provide Iran’s National Team (Team Melli) players with boots. The decision follows U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, an international nuclear agreement with Iran and world powers including the United States. On Friday, Nike said, “The sanctions mean that, as a U.S. company, we cannot supply […]

President Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”), commonly known as the “Iran Deal”, on May 8, 2018. The United States, Germany, UK, China, and Russia collectively signed the JCPOA in an effort to regulate Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the removal of multilateral economic and […]

President Trump must make a decision prior to October 15th on the certification of the Iran Nuclear Deal or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that was implemented in January 2016. If it were decertified, the onus would be on the U.S. Congress to decide in 60 days whether to impose nuclear-related sanctions that were […]

On September 12th 2017, the Security Council passed, in a unanimous 15-0 vote, new economic sanctions against North Korea. These sanctions added an extra layer of international restrictions on the already isolated regime. The basis of the sanctions was drafted by the United States and after compromise with China and Russia were weakened just enough […]

On June 16, President Trump announced two impending, significant changes to the Cuba sanctions program, which will impact U.S. persons traveling to Cuba. In general, to travel to Cuba a U.S. person must fit within one of 12 categories authorized by OFAC. Individual people-to-people travel, which was under the general category of educational activities and […]

On April 24, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 271 employees of Syria’s Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC). This surprisingly large set of designations was in response to the April 4, 2017 sarin gas attack by the Syrian government on civilians in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria.

On December 29, 2016, President Obama took action to expand the scope of the Department of the Treasury’s Cyber-related Sanctions Program to include, among other things, tampering with election processes.  Specifically, the President issued an Executive Order, Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency with Respect to Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities. This Executive Order […]