On January 10, 2020, the President issued a new Executive Order
and identified as Specially Designated Nationals eight senior
Iranian officials; 17 Iranian metals producers and mining
companies; a network of three China- and Seychelles-based entities;
and a vessel involved in the purchase, sale, and transfer of
Iranian metals products, as well as in the provision of critical
metals production components to Iranian metal producers.
Simultaneously with the release of the Executive Order and the
designations, the Secretaries of State and Treasury conducted a
press briefing that shed additional light on the sanctions
conveying the United State Government’s intent to (i) pursue
secondary sanctions, ((ii) work with the Swiss Government to
develop a secure channel for humanitarian payments into and out of
Iran, and (iii) provide authorizations for certain activity related
to the investigation of the Ukrainian aircraft that was shot down
on January 7, 2020 in Tehran.
