Countering Iranian Threats Act of 2016

Countering Iranian Threats Act of 2016

This bill directs the Departments of State, Defense, Treasury, and the Director of National Intelligence to submit a 10-year strategy to counter Iranian activities and threats.

The President shall impose against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sanctions with respect to: (1) blocking property of, and prohibiting transactions with, foreign persons who commit or support terrorism; and (2) an entity designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

The President shall impose asset blocking and U.S. exclusion sanctions against any person that: (1) materially contributes to the sale or transfer to Iran of specified military equipment or that provides related technical or financial assistance, or (2) materially contributes to Iran's ballistic missile or weapons of mass destruction programs.

The President shall impose specified sanctions against a person identified by the Department of State in an annual report as having acted to undermine, or as posing a risk of undermining: (1) the peace or stability in Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, or Yemen; or (2) the peace process in Syria.

Specified sanctions against Iran are continued until the President certifies that the following Iranian activities have ceased: (1) support for terrorism, (2) development of ballistic missile programs or delivery systems for weapons of mass destruction, (3) human rights abuses, and (4) undermining of cyber security.

The President shall impose property blocking sanctions against any person that has engaged in significant activities undermining cyber security by or on behalf of Iran.

The President may not issue any license under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to an offshore dollar clearing entity to conduct a transaction with an Iranian financial institution in U.S. dollars.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 is amended to subject to sanctions: (1) u-turn transactions (fund transfers from a foreign bank that pass through a U.S. financial institution and are then transferred to a second foreign bank), and (2) book transfers (fund transfers for the benefit of an Iranian financial institution made between accounts of the same financial institution).

The President is authorized and encouraged to impose asset blocking and U.S. exclusion sanctions against any Iranian official who is responsible for, or complicit in, directing acts of significant corruption in Iran.

The Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 is extended through December 31, 2026.

The bill sets forth reporting requirements with respect to: (1) Iran's use of sanction relief funds, (2) offshore U.S. dollar clearing for Iranian transactions, (3) U.S.-European Union sanctions coordination, (4) Iranian nuclear weapons research and development, (5) Iran-North Korea nuclear cooperation, (6) Iranian use of commercial aircraft and related services for illicit military or other activities, and (7) U.S. citizens detained by Iran.

Treasury shall publish in the Federal Register an IRGC Watch List.

It is the sense of Congress that the President should engage with international partners to ensure that the International Atomic Energy Agency is fully funded in order to undertake its verification responsibilities.

The bill exempts certain humanitarian and national security activities from sanctions.

Upon receipt of credible information that a person is engaged in sanctionable activity, the President shall initiate an investigation to determine whether such person is subject to sanctions.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov