Artesh vs the OFAC Sanctions List Search: news context vs the official screening tool

To check whether a person, company, vessel or aircraft is on a US sanctions list, use the OFAC Sanctions List Search: it is the official source and it is free. Artesh does not screen names. It shows which sanctioned Iranian entities appear in current news, translated into English, and links each one to its official record. Artesh is not legal or compliance advice.

	Artesh	OFAC Sanctions List Search
What it is	News site: sanctioned Iranian entities in current coverage	Official search tool of the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control
Language(s)	English and Persian	English
Aggregation and translation vs original reporting	Aggregates and translates Iran news that names an entity	No news; list data only
Update frequency	News through the day; designations as imported from the official lists	Shows the date each list was last updated; described as updated frequently
Sanctions / entity data	Iran-related designations only, shown with news; links to the official record	SDN List and the Consolidated non-SDN lists, all programs
Search and matching	Browse by entity; no name-screening tool	Search by name, ID, address, program, country and type, with fuzzy name matching and a score
History of changes	Dated news timeline per entity	The tool holds no history; OFAC publishes a separate archive of changes
Downloads	No	List files in several formats on OFAC's download pages
Rial rate (open market) and history	Yes	No
Daily email brief	Yes: daily news brief	No brief; OFAC offers separate e-mail alerts
Price	Free	Free
Account needed	No	not stated

Details from each provider's public pages, checked November 11, 2026: sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov, ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-list-search-tool, ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/topic/1636, ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-list-service. "Not stated" means the pages we read did not say. Names are used only to identify each service. Next check due by February 9, 2027.

Choose the OFAC Sanctions List Search if

You need to know whether a name is on a US sanctions list. It is the official source.
You need fuzzy name matching, or a search by ID number, address or program.
You need every program and country, not only Iran.
You need the list files to download.

Choose Artesh if

You already know an entity is designated and want the recent news about it in English.
You want to see which sanctioned Iranian entities are in the news this week.
You want sanctions news next to the rial rate and the rest of the day's Iran coverage.

Who Artesh suits best

A journalist, researcher or analyst following Iran sanctions as a news subject, who wants context around a designation and a link to the official entry. Compliance teams should screen against the official lists. OFAC states that its search tool is not a substitute for appropriate due diligence, and the same is true of Artesh.

Questions

Can I use Artesh to screen a customer or counterparty?

No. Artesh is a news site and is not legal or compliance advice. Screen names against the official lists with the OFAC Sanctions List Search.

Where is the official OFAC list?

At sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov, the Sanctions List Search run by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Does Artesh cover all OFAC programs?

No. Artesh covers Iran-related designations and the news about them.

How current is the sanctions data on Artesh?

Artesh imports designations from the official lists and can lag behind them. The official list is always the authority; each entity page links to the official record.

Is either one free?

Both are free. OFAC describes its search as a free tool.

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