Trump Signs Iran, Russia and North Korea Sanctions Bill Into Law
President Donald Trump on Aug. 2 signed legislation that authorizes new sanctions against Iran, Russia and North Korea, the White House announced. Specifically, the bill directs the president to assess military sanctions on Iran, provides for several economic and cyber-related sanctions against Russia, and provides for several economic sanctions against North Korea. The law also provides sanctions for North Korean cargo and shipping, goods produced through North Korean convict or forced labor, and foreign persons that employ North Korean forced laborers. The legislation requires the State Department to determine whether North Korea meets criteria for designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. In an Aug. 2 statement, Trump said he favors "tough measures" to "punish and deter aggressive and destabilizing behavior."
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The legislation directs the president to level sanctions related to Iran's ballistic missile or weapons of mass destruction programs, the sale or transfer to Iran of military equipment or related technical or financial assistance, and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated foreign persons. The law also authorizes the White House to impose sanctions against individuals violating internationally recognized human rights against people in Iran.
On Russia, the law provides sanctions relating to cybersecurity, crude oil projects, financial institutions, "corruption," human rights abuses, evasion of sanctions, transactions with Russian defense or intelligence sectors, export pipelines, privatization of state-owned assets by government officials, and arms transfers to Syria, according to the bill summary. The law also ensures that sanctions assessed against Russia through previous executive orders will remain in effect, and requires the president to submit for congressional review certain proposals to terminate or waive Russian sanctions.