Reference to any section of this part or to any regulation, ruling, order, instruction, direction or license issued pursuant to this part shall be deemed to refer to the same as currently amended unless otherwise so specified.

Any amendment, modification, or revocation of any section of this part or of any order, regulation, ruling, instruction, or license issued by or under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 203 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act shall not, unless otherwise specifically provided, be deemed to affect any act done or omitted to be done, or any suit or proceeding had or commenced in any civil or criminal case, prior to such amendment, modification, or revocation and all penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities under any such order, regulation, ruling, instruction or license shall continue and may be enforced as if such amendment, modification, or revocation had not been made.

(a) Whenever a transaction licensed or authorized by or pursuant to this part results in the transfer of property (including any property interest) away from Iran or an Iranian entity, such property shall no longer be deemed to be property in which Iran or an Iranian entity has or has had an interest, unless there exists in the property another such interest the transfer of which has not been effected pursuant to license or other authorization.

(b) Unless otherwise specifically provided in a license or authorization contained in or issued pursuant to this part, if property (including any property interest) is transferred to Iran or an Iranian interest, such property shall be deemed to be property in which there exists an interest of Iran or an Iranian entity.

Transfers authorized by § 535.901 include transfers by order of a non-Iranian foreign bank from its account in a domestic bank (directly or through a foreign branch or subsidiary of a domestic bank) to an account held by a domestic bank (directly or through a foreign branch or subsidiary) for a second non-Iranian foreign bank which in turn credits an account held by it abroad for Iran. For the purposes of this section, a non-Iranian foreign bank means a bank which is not a person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(a) Section 535.508 does not authorize any transfer from a blocked account within the United States to an account held by any bank outside the United States or any other payment into a blocked account outside the United States.

(b) Section 535.508 only authorizes payment into a blocked account held by a domestic bank as defined by § 535.320.

A person receiving payment under § 535.904 may distribute all or part of that payment to anyone: Provided, That any such payment to Iran or an Iranian entity must be to a blocked account in a domestic bank.

(a) Question. Prior to the effective date, a bank subject to the jurisdiction of the United States has issued or confirmed a documentary letter of credit for a non-Iranian account party in favor of an Iranian entity. Can payment be made upon presentation of documentary drafts?

Answer. Yes, provided payment is made into a blocked account in a domestic bank.

(b) Question. Prior to the effective date, a domestic branch of a bank organized or incorporated under the laws of the United States has issued or confirmed a documentary letter of credit for a non-Iranian account party in favor of an Iranian entity. Payment is to be made through a foreign branch of the bank. Can payment be made upon presentation of documentary drafts?

Answer. Yes, provided payment is made into a blocked account in a domestic bank.

(c) Question. Prior to the effective date, a foreign bank confirms a documentary letter of credit issued by its U.S. agency or branch for a non-Iranian account party in favor of an Iranian entity. Can the U.S. agency or branch of the foreign bank transfer funds to the foreign bank in connection with that foreign bank's payment under the letter of credit?

Answer. No, the U.S. agency's payment is blocked, unless the foreign bank made payment to the Iranian entity prior to the effective date.

(d) Question. Prior to the effective date, a bank subject to the jurisdiction of the United States has issued or confirmed a documentary letter of credit for a non-Iranian account party in favor of an Iranian entity. The Iranian entity presents documentry drafts which are deficient in some detail. May the non-Iranian account party waive the documentary deficiency and authorize the bank to make payment?

Answer. Yes, provided payment is made into a blocked account in a domestic bank. However, the non-Iranian account party is not obligated by these Regulations to exercise a waiver of documentary deficiencies. In cases where such a waiver is not exercised, the bank's payment obligation, if any, under the letter of credit remains blocked, as does any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of the account party. The documents are also blocked.

(e) Question. Prior to the effective date, a bank subject to the jurisdiction of the United States has issued or confirmed a documentary letter of credit for a non-Iranian account party in favor of an Iranian entity. The Iranian entity does not make timely, complete, or proper presentation of documents, and the letter of credit expires. Does there remain a blocked payment obligation held by the bank?

Answer. No, but any documents held by the bank continue to be blocked. It is also possible that the account party still has a related obligation to the Iranian entity and any such obligation would be blocked.

(f) Question. A bank subject to the jurisdiction of the United States has issued a letter of credit for a U.S. account party in favor of an Iranian entity. The letter of credit is confirmed by a foreign bank. Prior to or after the effective date, the Iranian entity presents documents to the U.S. issuing bank. Payment is deferred. After the effective date, the Iranian entity requests that the issuing bank either return the documents to the Iranian entity or transfer them to the confirming bank. Can the issuing bank do so?

Answer. No. The U.S. issuing bank can neither return nor transfer the documents without a license. The documents constitute blocked property under the Regulations.

(g) Question. Prior to the effective date, a bank subject to the jurisdiction of the United States has issued or confirmed a documentary letter of credit for a non-Iranian account party in favor of an Iranian entity. The Iranian entity presents documentary drafts which are deficient in some detail. May the non-Iranian account party waive the documentary deficiency and make payment?

Answer. Yes, provided payment is made into a blocked account in a domestic bank. However, the non-Iranian account party is not obligated by these Regulations to exercise a waiver of documentary deficiencies. In cases where such a waiver is not exercised, the amount of the payment held by the account party is blocked.

Section 535.508 authorizes transfer of a blocked demand deposit account to interest-bearing status at the instruction of the Iranian depositor at any time.

Specific licenses are not issued on the basis that an unlicensed firm commitment or payment has been made in connection with a transaction prohibited by this part. Contractual commitments to engage in transactions subject to the prohibitions of this part should not be made, unless the contract specifically states that the transaction is authorized by general license or that it is subject to the issuance of a specific license.

The Central Bank of Iran (Bank Markazi Iran) is an agency, instrumentality and controlled entity of the Government of Iran for all purposes under this part.

Nothing in this part in any way relieves any persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States from securing licenses or other authorizations as required from the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce or other relevant agency prior to executing the transactions authorized or directed by this part. This includes licenses for transactions involving military equipment.

(a) Nothing contained in §§ 535.212, 535.213 and 535.214 or in any other provision or revocation or amendment of any provision in this part affects the prohibition in § 535.201 and the licensing procedure in § 535.568 relating to certain standby letters of credit, performance bonds and similar obligations. The term funds and securities as used in this part does not include substitute blocked accounts established under section 535.568 relating to standby letters of credit, performance or payment bonds and similar obligations.

(b) No transfer requirement under § 535.213 or § 535.214 shall be deemed to authorize or compel any payment or transfer of any obligation under a standby letter of credit, performance bond or similar obligation as to which a blocked account has been established pursuant to § 535.568 or as to which payment is prohibited under an injunction obtained by the account party.

(a) For purposes of §§ 535.212 and 535.213, what is meant by “commercially reasonable rates” depends on the particular circumstances. In the case of time or savings deposits, the “commercially reasonable rate” is that rate provided for by the deposit agreement or applicable law. With respect to other obligations where the rate remains to be determined, it is presently expected that the “commercially reasonable rate” will be the rate agreed upon by the bank and Iran. However, where a deposit has in fact operated as a demand account under Treasury license, it would be appropriate to treat the deposit for purposes of §§ 535.212 and 535.213 as a non-interest bearing account. Furthermore, in the event that the Iran-U.S Claims Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) determines that interest additional to that agreed upon between the bank and Iran, or compensation or damages in lieu of interest, is due Iran, then that amount determined by the Tribunal to be owing to Iran shall be transferred as, or as part of, the interest at “commercially reasonable rates” required to be transferred pursuant to §§ 535.212 and 535.213, regardless of any settlement between the bank and Iran or any release or discharge that Iran may have given the bank.

(b) The contingent interest of Iran in any liability for further or additional interest, or compensation or damages in lieu of interest, that may be claimed in, and determined by the Tribunal, constitutes an interest of Iran in property for purposes of this part, and no agreement between Iran and any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States is effective to extinguish such Iranian interest in property unless so specifically licensed by the Treasury Department.

(c) For deposits held as time deposits, no penalty shall be imposed for early withdrawal. (In this connection, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has determined that application of the penalty for early withdrawal of time deposits transferred before maturity, pursuant to § 535.213 is not required.)

(a) Award No. 483 of June 22, 1990 of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, approving and giving effect to the Settlement Agreement in Claims of Less Than $250,000, Case No. 86 and Case No. B38, dated May 13, 1990 (the “Settlement Agreement”), constitutes a determination by the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal of all claims encompassed therein within the meaning of § 535.222(f) of this part. In accordance with § 535.222(f), upon payment from the Security Account to the United States, the Settlement Agreement shall operate as a final resolution and discharge of all claims encompassed by the Settlement Agreement for all purposes. All such claims shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission on the terms established in the Settlement Agreement and by the provisions of Public Law 99-93, Title V, Aug. 16, 1985, 99 Stat. 437, applicable to en bloc settlements of claims of U.S. nationals against Iran.

(b) Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, the private claims subject to that agreement and this part are “* * * claims of less than $250,000 each, which have been filed with the Tribunal by the United States on behalf of U.S. nationals, which claims are included in Cases Nos. 10001 through 12785, and which are still pending, * * * ,” and “* * * claims of U.S. nationals for less than $250,000 which have been submitted to the United States Department of State but were not timely filed with the Tribunal, as well as claims of U.S. nationals for less than $250,000 which have been either withdrawn by the Claimants or dismissed by the Tribunal for lack of jurisdiction, * * * .” Settlement Agreement, Art. I(A).