On June 30, the United States, together with its partners in the P5+1, the EU and Iran, agreed to a seven day extension of the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA), which currently halts progress on Iran’s nuclear program in order to continue negotiations towards establishing a comprehensive and enduring solution.  The initial agreement, reached in November 2013, stipulated that the P5+1 (comprised of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and Germany) would implement narrow and targeted sanctions relief in return for Iran’s continued commitment to limit its nuclear program.

In keeping with these agreements, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of the Treasury have invoked sanctions relief in association with certain activities and services between mutually designated periods. The JPOA has been renewed twice, on July 19, 2014 and November 24, 2014, with the most recent renewal designating continuing sanctions relief for Iran until June 30, 2015.

The June 30 decision to continue the multilateral nuclear program negotiations extends the JPOA, including temporary sanctions relief upon Iran, through July 7, 2015. Beginning July 1, the new sanctions relief extension issued by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will encompass all specific licenses that that have an expiration date of June 30, 2015 and were issued pursuant to OFAC’s Second Amended Statement of Licensing Policy on Activities Related to the Safety of Iran’s Civil Aviation Industry. This extension represents continued efforts on both sides of the Iran nuclear negotiations, to formulate a substantial and effective solution.

If you have any questions related to the JPOA or other sanctions matters, please contact Cortney Morgan or Linda Tiller.