Obama Administration Eases Guidelines on Iran Deals for Foreign Firms

The Times of Israel reports: Updated guidelines published by the US Treasury Department ease restrictions on foreign companies attempting to do business with Iran in what is being called a “loosening of sanctions.”

The guidelines published Friday allow business with Iran as long as the US financial system and Americans are not involved. For example, foreign financial institutions can process transactions in dollars with Iran, and US financial institutions are permitted to conduct transactions with the foreign entities involved, granted that none of the money from dealings with Iran entered the US financial system.

Also, the guidelines said it was “not necessarily sanctionable” for foreigners to conduct business with an entity that while not on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list — a list of individuals and companies, including terrorists, with which US citizens and permanent residents are not allowed to do business — is nonetheless “minority owned, or that is controlled in whole or in part, by an Iranian or Iran-related person on the SDN List.”

The update clarifies the current state of the sanctions against Iran and does not represent further sanctions relief, a Treasury Department spokesman told Bloomberg.

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