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Sanctions

  • Outreach to North Korea Continues
    Arms Control Today
    March 4, 2010

    High-level UN and Chinese envoys met with key North Korean leaders in early February to discuss the prospects for resuming multilateral talks on that country’s nuclear weapons program.

    Despite Pyongyang’s willingness to continue discussions on the possibility of returning to negotiations it abandoned last year, it appears to be sending mixed messages to the international community. Those six-party talks involved the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States.
  • Senate Targets Iran’s Oil Suppliers
    Arms Control Today
    March 3, 2010

    The Senate approved a bill Jan. 28 that would increase pressure on Iran by levying sanctions on firms that export gasoline and refinery equipment to that country.

    The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act, sponsored by Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), amends the 1996 Iran Sanctions Act, which targeted firms investing in Iran’s energy sector. The House of Representatives passed an Iran sanctions bill in December.
  • House Adopts Iran Oil Sanctions
    Arms Control Today
    January 14, 2010

    The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Dec. 15 to penalize companies that provide refined petroleum to Iran, advancing congressional efforts to strengthen sanctions against Tehran.

    The Senate is considering similar measures in more expansive sanctions legislation approved by the Senate Banking Committee in October. House and Senate committee leaders indicated in April that they would delay moving the legislation forward to allow the Obama administration to pursue diplomatic engagement with Iran.
  • Using Stronger Sanctions to Increase Negotiating Leverage With Iran
    Arms Control Today
    December 4, 2009

    Six days after his inauguration, President Barack Obama declared that “if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us.” Over the 10 months since then, the Obama administration has followed up on the January 26 declaration with numerous friendly gestures to the Iranian regime.

    The administration was right to offer incentives to and enter into dialogue with the Iranian leadership. Unfortunately, the Iranian regime has responded by continuing its aggressive and illegal behavior. The Obama administration should increase U.S. negotiating leverage over Iran by imposing crippling sanctions on Iran, beginning January 1, until Iran verifiably complies with its international obligations.

     
  • Iran and the Problem of Tactical Myopia
    Arms Control Today
    December 4, 2009

    It seems that every conversation about Iran is a conversation about sanctions. Even in the midst of negotiations, the talk is as likely to be about the sanctions that might follow as it is about the negotiation itself. This is an odd and unfortunate state of affairs.

    Although sanctions can be an effective policy instrument, they are only that: an instrument or tactic for achieving a goal. Given their track record, new sanctions are hardly the tactic one would rush to as a promising choice. More importantly, by narrowly focusing on a tactic rather than the strategic objective, there is the risk that policymakers will produce the very thing they seek to prevent: an Iran with nuclear weapons.

     
  • UN Adds to North Korea Sanctions List
    Arms Control Today
    September 4, 2009

    In a key step aimed at implementing a June sanctions resolution against North Korea, the UN Security Council blacklisted 10 North Korean organizations and individuals connected to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs July 16. Security Council Resolution 1874, passed June 12, directed council members to take steps toward identifying North Korean entities and persons that would be subject to the financial restrictions, asset freezes, and travel restrictions outlined in the resolution. (See ACT, July/August 2009.) The council adopted that measure in response to North Korea’s May 25 nuclear test, building on a 2006 sanctions resolution adopted in response to Pyongyang’s first nuclear test. (Continue)
  • UN Tightens North Korea Sanctions
    Arms Control Today
    July 2, 2009

    The UN Security Council last month broadly expanded sanctions and counterproliferation measures against North Korea in response to that country's May 25 nuclear test.

    Resolution 1874, which the council unanimously adopted June 12, builds on the measures the council took in 2006 when it adopted Resolution 1718 in response to North Korea's first nuclear test. (Continue)
  • West May Seek Alternative Sanctions on Iran
    Arms Control Today
    November 4, 2008
  • U.S. Wields Financial Sanctions Against Iran
    Arms Control Today
    November 4, 2008
  • Type, Targets of Sanctions Shift in Bush Administration
    Arms Control Today
    October 6, 2008

    In September, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed proliferation sanctions on 25 Iranian entities. Enacted under Executive Order 13382, the sanctions freeze any U.S. assets of the accused and prohibit them from engaging in U.S. financial or commercial activities.

    The sanctions are the latest installment in a series the Treasury Department has imposed during President George W. Bush’s second term on entities allegedly assisting or engaged in the acquisition or sale of unconventional weapons, related materials, or missiles. At the same time, the Department of State, which spearheaded the drive to reinvigorate sanctions during Bush’s first term, has increasingly taken a back seat. The changes parallel a shift in the target of sanctions: over the course of the administration, sanctions have decreased against Chinese entities and increased against Iranian entities. (Continue)