Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Despite Last-Minute Changes, Senate Bill Deals Big Blow to Renewable Energy

18 hours ago

Trump-Backed Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Passes US Senate

20 hours ago

Homeland Security Secretary Noem Says CNN May Be Prosecuted Over Report on Migration App

20 hours ago

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

21 hours ago

Trump Escalates Feud With Musk, Threatens Tesla, SpaceX Support

21 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

2 days ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

2 days ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

2 days ago
US Gives Exemptions to Sanctions on Iran Revolutionary Guard
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
April 24, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday granted important exemptions to new sanctions on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, watering down the effects of the measures while also eliminating an aspect that would have complicated U.S. foreign policy efforts.
Foreign governments and businesses that have dealings with the Revolutionary Guard and its affiliates will not be subject to a ban on U.S. travel under waivers outlined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in two notices published in the Federal Register.
That weakens the effect of the measures and will frustrate members of Congress backing tough measures against Iran who are already concerned that the Trump administration won’t fully enforce sanctions on Iranian oil. But it lifts the threat that those who work with the U.S. in Iraq and Lebanon, where the Guard’s many subsidiaries are active, will face the full weight of American penalties.
The waivers leave intact sanctions that apply directly to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and its proxies, which are the first agencies of a foreign government that have ever been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States. The designation, which took effect April 15, is part of a broader administration effort to increase pressure on Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaking Wednesday in New York, said the administration is creating dangerous conditions with its campaign against Tehran. “Iranians are allergic to pressure,” he said, adding that he believes the conflict can be resolved diplomatically.

Travel Ban Waived for Foreign Business, Governments

Under U.S. immigration law, foreigners found to have provided designated foreign terrorist organizations with “material support” can be banned from the U.S.

Lebanon, where Iran and the Guard are active in their support of the militant Hezbollah movement, and Iraq, where they back Shiite militias and have close ties to the government, are two such countries where the U.S. is heavily engaged on the military and diplomatic fronts.
When it was announced earlier this month, the designation raised fears that U.S. diplomats and troops might have to end contacts with officials in countries that have ties with Iran or elements of the Guard, a paramilitary organization formed in the wake of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution to defend its clerically overseen government.
Lebanon, where Iran and the Guard are active in their support of the militant Hezbollah movement, and Iraq, where they back Shiite militias and have close ties to the government, are two such countries where the U.S. is heavily engaged on the military and diplomatic fronts.
Pompeo said in the notices that he decided to waive the travel bans in U.S. foreign policy and national security interests.
In one notice, he said the sanctions “shall not apply to any ministry, department, agency, division, or other group or subgroup within any foreign government” unless that entity is covered by existing U.S. sanctions.
In the second notice, he said the sanctions won’t apply “to any business, organization, or group, whether public or private, solely based on its provision of material support to any foreign government sub-entity that has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization.”

Concerns Have Been Raised by Iran Hawks

The notices were published just two days after the Republican administration announced that it would not renew sanctions waivers for countries that import Iranian oil. Those waivers, which primarily affect five countries — China and India and U.S. treaty allies Japan, South Korea and Turkey — expire on May 2. The announcement sparked a spike in world oil prices due to concerns that the global supply of crude would be diminished if Iranian exports are cut off.
In the days since, however, concerns have been raised by Iran hawks that the administration may not impose sanctions on those countries if they continue their imports.
Under one scenario being considered by the administration, those countries could be allowed to place and pay for future orders of Iranian oil before May 2, essentially front-loading continued imports, according to officials, congressional aides and outside advisers familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Then, the administration could grant them waivers from sanctions to insure, transport and refine the oil under a 2012 law.
The State Department declined to comment on the possibility that Iranian oil imports might continue without sanctions.

‘Maximum Pressure Should Mean Maximum Pressure’

President Donald Trump has said the goal of the administration is to cut Iranian oil exports to zero to choke off the estimated $50 billion a year in revenue it provided before sanctions were reinstated in November following the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

“There is no maximum pressure campaign without eliminating all Iranian oil exports. That must be the immediate objective.” Mark Dubowitz, the chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
But officials in charge of Iran policy have not ruled out the possibility of allowing some importers additional time to wind down those purchases, drawing criticism from supporters of a “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at Tehran, which the U.S. says destabilizes the Middle East by supporting militant activity around the region.
“I think maximum pressure should mean maximum pressure,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Pompeo earlier this month at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing during which he implored the administration to adopt the strictest possible interpretation of the sanctions.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., concurred. “Going forward, the proper amount of oil exports from Iran is zero.”
Outside opponents of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal say that for the maximum pressure campaign to succeed, exports must be eliminated even if sharp reductions short of a complete shutdown significantly reduce Iran’s income.
“There is no maximum pressure campaign without eliminating all Iranian oil exports. That must be the immediate objective,” said Mark Dubowitz, the chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a critic of the 2015 deal.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Arrested for Suspected Arson Hours After Separate Wildfire

DON'T MISS

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

DON'T MISS

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

DON'T MISS

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

DON'T MISS

Google Hit With $314 Million US Verdict in Cellular Data Class Action

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Wildfire Prompts Advisory in Three Rivers Area

DON'T MISS

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

UP NEXT

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

UP NEXT

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

UP NEXT

Trump Says US Could Reach Trade Deal With India, Casts Doubt on Deal With Japan

UP NEXT

France Shuts Schools, Italy Limits Outdoor Work as Heatwave Grips Europe

UP NEXT

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

UP NEXT

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

935 People Killed in Israeli Strikes on Iran, Official Says

UP NEXT

US Revokes Visas for Bob Vylan After Music Duo’s Glastonbury Chants

UP NEXT

Israel Acknowledges Palestinian Civilians Harmed at Gaza Aid Sites, Says ‘Lessons Learned’

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

13 hours ago

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

14 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

14 hours ago

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

14 hours ago

Google Hit With $314 Million US Verdict in Cellular Data Class Action

14 hours ago

Tulare County Wildfire Prompts Advisory in Three Rivers Area

15 hours ago

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

15 hours ago

Trump Says US Could Reach Trade Deal With India, Casts Doubt on Deal With Japan

15 hours ago

Jury Reaches Verdict on Some Counts at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Sex Trafficking Trial

15 hours ago

How Wimbledon Is Tackling Its Hottest Opening on Record

15 hours ago

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

LOS ANGELES — The Trump administration released about 150 National Guard troops on Tuesday in the first pullback since it dispatched a milit...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

An Israeli military convoy manoeuvres near the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
13 hours ago

Trump Says Israel Has Agreed to Conditions to Finalize 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire

Abel Joel Garcia Zarate, 39, of Biola, was arrested Sunday, June, 30, 2025, in Madera County on suspicion of starting a wildfire just hours after crews responded to a separate blaze sparked by farm equipment. (Madera County SO)
13 hours ago

Fresno County Man Arrested for Suspected Arson Hours After Separate Wildfire

13 hours ago

New California Environmental Rollbacks Could Boost Housing Projects in Fresno

An aerial view of the Iranian shores and the island of Qeshm in the strait of Hormuz, December 10, 2023. REUTERSStringerFile Photo
14 hours ago

Iran Made Preparations to Mine the Strait of Hormuz, US Sources Say

14 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

Lara Trump looks on during Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump's rally, at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., November 6, 2024. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Trump Floats Daughter-in-Law Lara Trump for Senate Run in North Carolina

A Google logo is seen at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 13, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Google Hit With $314 Million US Verdict in Cellular Data Class Action

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend