What Do We Know About the First Package of U.S. Sanctions?

On May 8, when Donald Trump, the President of the United States, implemented his decision to withdraw from the JCPOA, he ordered his agencies, including the U.S. Treasury Department, to initiate the process of reinstating sanctions that had been lifted since Iran and the P5+1 reached the agreement. According to the guidelines published by the U.S. Treasury Department, specific timeframes have been defined for how the sanctions will be reinstated, with two deadlines mentioned: one for 90 days and another for 180 days. These timeframes are based on the sanctions laws that are now being reinstated. Tuesday, August 6, is the date set for the return of the first package of sanctions. Although Iran's oil-dependent economy will feel the severe impact of the sanctions with the implementation of the second package, the 90-day anticipation for the first package has already caused significant instability in Iran's economy, including pushing the price of the U.S. dollar into five figures. What does this first package include? A brief look at the announcement published by the U.S. Treasury Department in May shows that these sanctions, which were previously implemented during Barack Obama's presidency before the nuclear agreement, target multiple sectors; from the Iranian government's access to dollars, to gold trade, and the purchase and access to certain metals such as aluminum and steel. Additionally, starting from August 6, the sanctions on the exchange and buying and selling of rials, as well as buying or facilitating government borrowing, will also return. Another sanction that the Iranian market will witness is the sanction on Iran's automotive sector. Meanwhile, some licenses that the U.S. government had issued upon reaching the JCPOA will become ineffective from August 6, including the license for importing Iranian goods such as carpets and food products into the U.S., as well as the purchase of passenger planes and spare parts, which was considered one of the significant achievements of the JCPOA for Tehran. The Trump administration had given a 90-day period for actors in these areas to gradually reduce and cease their activities in Iran to avoid being subject to U.S. sanctions from August 6. However, if these actors' payments are completed for reasons related to previous contracts after August 6, the companies will not be subject to sanctions. This warning in May caused dozens of large companies that had returned to the Iranian market in the past two to three years to announce once again the end of their cooperation with Tehran. Companies such as Boeing, Peugeot, Total, and Maersk. Of course, in the oil and energy sector, insurance for oil tankers and transactions with Iran's central bank still have a 90-day opportunity left, and sanctions related to these areas will be re-imposed on November 4. The set of sanctions that are being reinstated fall under the category of U.S. secondary sanctions. The primary U.S. sanctions remained in place after the JCPOA, except for exceptions related to aircraft, carpets, and food products. The reinstated sanctions do not only target 'American persons' but also include third countries; those countries that had initiated the most trade with Iran in recent years. Now many of those companies have left Iran or say they are preparing to leave, while a small minority that remains is waiting for other parties to the JCPOA, especially the European Union. The EU, which was previously aligned with these U.S. sanctions before the JCPOA, now says it still wants to remain in the JCPOA and has considered mechanisms to protect European companies from the impact of U.S. sanctions. Efforts that many view with skepticism.