[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 12 (Monday, March 24, 1997)]
[Pages 373-375]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Congress on Iran

March 14, 1997

To the Congress of the United States:

    I hereby report to the Congress on developments concerning the 
national emergency with respect to Iran that was declared in Executive 
Order 12957 of March 15, 1995, and matters relating to the measures in 
that order and in Executive Order 12959 of May 6, 1995. This report is 
submitted pursuant to section 204(c) of the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(c) (IEEPA), section 401(c) of the 
National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c), and section 505(c) of the 
International Security and Development Corporation Act of 1985, 22 
U.S.C. 2349aa-9(c). This report discusses only matters concerning the 
national emergency with respect to Iran that was declared in Executive 
Order 12957 and does not deal with those relating to the emergency 
declared on November 14, 1979, in connection with the hostage crisis.
    1. On March 15, 1995, I issued Executive Order 12957 (60 Fed. Reg. 
14615, March 17, 1995) to declare a national emergency with respect to 
Iran pursuant to IEEPA, and to prohibit the financing, management, or 
supervision by United States persons of the development of Iranian 
petroleum resources. This action was in response to actions and policies 
of the Government of Iran, including support for international 
terrorism, efforts to undermine the Middle East peace process, and the 
acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver 
them. A copy of the order was provided to the Speaker of the House and 
the President of the Senate by letter dated March 15, 1995.
    Following the imposition of these restrictions with regard to the 
development of Iranian petroleum resources, Iran continued to engage in 
activities that represent a threat to the peace and security of all 
nations, including Iran's continuing support for international 
terrorism, its support for acts that undermine the Middle East peace 
process, and its intensified efforts to acquire weapons of mass 
destruction. On May 6, 1995, I issued Executive Order 12959 to further 
respond to the Iranian threat to the national security, foreign policy, 
and economy of the United States.
    Executive Order 12959 (60 Fed. Reg. 24757, May 9, 1995) (1) 
prohibits exportation from the United States to Iran or to the 
Government of Iran of goods, technology, or services; (2) prohibits the 
reexportation of certain U.S. goods and technology to Iran from third 
countries; (3) prohibits dealings by United States persons in goods and 
services of Iranian origin or owned or controlled by the Government of 
Iran; (4) prohibits new investments by United States persons in Iran or 
in property owned or controlled by the Government of Iran; (5) prohibits 
U.S. companies and other United States persons from approving, 
facilitating, or financing performance by a foreign subsidiary or other 
entity owned or controlled by a United States person of certain 
reexport, investment, and trade transactions that a United States person 
is prohibited from performing; (6) continues the 1987 prohibition on the 
importation into the United States of goods and services of Iranian 
origin; (7) prohibits any transaction by a United States person or 
within the United States that evades or avoids or attempts to violate 
any prohibition of the order; and (8) allowed U.S. companies a 30-day 
period in which to perform trade transactions pursuant to contracts 
predating the Executive order.
    At the time of signing Executive Order 12959, I directed the 
Secretary of the Treasury to authorize through specific licensing 
certain transactions, including transactions by United States persons 
related to the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, 
established pursuant to the Algiers Accords, and related to other 
international obligations

[[Page 374]]

and United States Government functions, and transactions related to the 
export of agricultural commodities pursuant to preexisting contracts 
consistent with section 5712(c) of title 7, United States Code. I also 
directed the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the 
Secretary of State, to consider authorizing United States persons 
through specific licensing to participate in market-based swaps of crude 
oil from the Caspian Sea area for Iranian crude oil in support of energy 
projects in Azerbaijan, Kazakstan, and Turkmenistan.
    Executive Order 12959 revoked sections 1 and 2 of Executive Order 
12613 of October 29, 1987, and sections 1 and 2 of Executive Order 12957 
of March 15, 1995, to the extent they are inconsistent with it. A copy 
of Executive Order 12959 was transmitted to the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President of the Senate by letter dated May 6, 
1995.
    2. On March 5, 1997, I renewed for another year the national 
emergency with respect to Iran pursuant to IEEPA. This renewal extended 
the authority for the current comprehensive trade embargo against Iran 
in effect since May 1995. Under these sanctions, virtually all trade 
with Iran is prohibited except for information and informational 
materials and certain other limited exceptions.
    3. The Iranian Transactions Regulations (the ``Regulations'' or 
ITR), 31 CFR Part 560, were amended on October 21, 1996 (61 Fed. Reg. 
54936, October 23, 1996), to implement section 4 of the Federal Civil 
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt 
Collection Improvement Act of 1996, by adjusting for inflation the 
amount of the civil monetary penalties that may be assessed under the 
Regulations. The amendment increases the maximum civil monetary penalty 
provided in the Regulations from $10,000 to $11,000 per violation.
    The amended Regulations also reflect an amendment to 18 U.S.C. 1001 
contained in section 330016(1)(L) of Public Law 103-322, September 13, 
1994; 108 Stat. 2147. The amendment notes the availability of higher 
criminal fines pursuant to the formulas set forth in 18 U.S.C. 3571. A 
copy of the amendment is attached.
    Section 560.603 of the ITR was amended on November 15, 1996 (61 Fed. 
Reg. 58480), to clarify rules relating to reporting requirements imposed 
on United States persons with foreign affiliations. Initial reporting 
under the amended Regulation has been deferred until May 30, 1997, by a 
January 14, 1997, Federal Register notice (62 Fed. Reg. 1832). Copies of 
the amendment and the notice are attached.
    4. During the current 6-month period, the Department of the 
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) made numerous 
decisions with respect to applications for licenses to engage in 
transactions under the ITR, and issued 13 licenses. The majority of 
denials were in response to requests to authorize commercial exports to 
Iran--particularly of machinery and equipment for the petroleum and 
manufacturing industries--and the importation of Iranian-origin goods. 
The licenses issued authorized the export and reexport of goods, 
services, and technology essential to ensure the safety of civil 
aviation and safe operation of certain commercial passenger aircraft in 
Iran; certain financial and legal transactions; the importation of 
Iranian-origin artwork for public exhibition; and certain diplomatic 
transactions. Pursuant to sections 3 and 4 of Executive Order 12959 and 
in order to comply with the Iran-Iraq Arms Non-Proliferation Act of 1992 
and other statutory restrictions applicable to certain goods and 
technology, including those involved in the air-safety cases, the 
Department of the Treasury continues to consult with the Departments of 
State and Commerce on these matters.
    The U.S. financial community continues to interdict transactions 
associated with Iran and to consult with OFAC about their appropriate 
handling. Many of these inquiries have resulted in investigations into 
the activities of U.S. parties and, where appropriate, the initiation of 
enforcement action.
    5. The U.S. Customs Service has continued to effect numerous 
seizures of Iranian-origin merchandise, primarily carpets, for 
violations of the import prohibitions of the ITR. Various enforcement 
actions carried over from previous reporting periods are continuing and 
new reports of violations are being aggressively pursued. Since my last 
re

[[Page 375]]

port, OFAC has collected a civil monetary penalty in the amount of 
$5,000. The violation underlying this collection involves the unlicensed 
import of Iranian-origin goods for transshipment to a third country 
aboard a U.S.-flag vessel. Civil penalty action or review is pending 
against 21 companies, financial institutions, and individuals for 
possible violations of the Regulations.
    6. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the 6-month 
period from September 15, 1996, through March 14, 1997, that are 
directly attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities 
conferred by the declaration of a national emergency with respect to 
Iran are approximately $800,000, most of which represent wage and salary 
costs for Federal personnel. Personnel costs were largely centered in 
the Department of the Treasury (particularly in the Office of Foreign 
Assets Control, the U.S. Customs Service, the Office of the Under 
Secretary for Enforcement, and the Office of the General Counsel), the 
Department of State (particularly the Bureau of Economic and Business 
Affairs, the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, the Bureau of Intelligence 
and Research, and the Office of the Legal Adviser), and the Department 
of Commerce (the Bureau of Export Administration and the General 
Counsel's Office).
    7. The situation reviewed above continues to involve important 
diplomatic, financial, and legal interests of the United States and its 
nationals and presents an extraordinary and unusual threat to the 
national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. The 
declaration of the national emergency with respect to Iran contained in 
Executive Order 12957 and the comprehensive economic sanctions imposed 
by Executive Order 12959 underscore the United States Government 
opposition to the actions and policies of the Government of Iran, 
particularly its support of international terrorism and its efforts to 
acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. The 
Iranian Transactions Regulations issued pursuant to Executive Orders 
12957 and 12959 continue to advance important objectives in promoting 
the nonproliferation and antiterrorism policies of the United States. I 
shall exercise the powers at my disposal to deal with these problems and 
will report periodically to the Congress on significant developments.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
March 14, 1997.

Note: This message was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.