The U.K. added three people and one entity to its Iran sanctions regime Sept. 2, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The individuals are Abdolfatah Ahvazian, Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hamid Fazeli, and Behnam Shahriyari. IRGC Quds Force Unit 700 was listed for activity meant to "cause the destabilisation of the United Kingdom or any other country," OFSI said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a correction to a June final rule that introduced new export controls and expanded existing restrictions against Russia and Belarus (see 2406120036). The correction fixes a typo.
The State Department is working on a final rule that would amend restrictions against Cyprus under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The rule, sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Aug. 29, could build on steps the State Department has taken to relax export restrictions for certain defense goods and services involving the country (see 2309130028).
The Bureau of Industry and Security sent a final rule for interagency review that could remove export licensing requirements for certain spacecraft and related items destined to Australia, Canada and the U.K. BIS sent the rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Aug. 30.
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The U.K. this week suspended a range of export licenses for Israel that it said are being used to ship items to the Israeli military, though members of Parliament pushed the government to impose a broader ban, including an arms embargo.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., criticized the Biden administration last week for its recent use of sanctions against Israelis, saying the practice undercuts an ally fighting a war against terrorism and emboldens enemies of Israel and the U.S. Rubio said Israel’s judicial system “is fully capable of prosecuting crimes committed within its borders” and that the administration should stop inserting itself into such matters. His comments, which he made in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, came two days after the U.S. sanctioned an Israeli non-governmental organization and an Israeli person for contributing to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank (see 2408280023).
A financial software company recently disclosed to the Office of Foreign Assets Control that it may have violated U.S. sanctions by allowing its services to be used by customers in restricted countries.
With Russia having recently restarted production of liquefied natural gas at its Western-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, compliance officers should prepare for the increased but “manageable” risks that Russian LNG poses, according to a new report released by Blackstone Compliance Services.
Defense firm RTX Corp. will pay $200 million to settle alleged violations of U.S. defense export controls, the largest standalone export penalty ever issued by the State Department. RTX voluntarily disclosed the 750 violations, the agency said in a charging letter, most of which involved “historical” issues by an aerospace firm acquired by RTX in 2018.