OFAC Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations — final rule implementing E.O. 13902 (§560.211(c)(1)(iii), new §560.210(g)-(h))

Mechanism

E.O. 13902 (85 FR 2003) has operated through designations since 2020; this rule writes its section 1(a) blocking authority, and its section 11 (agricultural/medical) and section 12 (UN business) carve-outs, into the ITSR text. The new "Iran" definition (including the Government of Iran) applies solely to §560.210(g) and §560.211(c)(1)(iii). OFAC states the rule is a foreign-affairs-function rule exempt from notice-and-comment; willful violations carry criminal penalties under 50 U.S.C. 1705.

Downstream implications

• Codification, not a new designation wave: practical bite depends on future sector determinations (see the 2026-08-24 five-sector determination).
• Gives compliance teams regulatory-text carve-outs for food/medicine and UN business under the E.O. 13902 block.

Open questions

• Whether further sector determinations under section 1(a)(i) follow now that the regulatory text is in place.