Shortly before 6 PM yesterday at the start of the Columbus Day holiday weekend in the US, the Treasury Department published new guidance for businesses that said some previously prohibited dollar transactions with Iran by offshore banking institutions are allowed as long as they do not enter the US financial system.
The clarifications from Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control also remove a blanket ban on foreign transactions with Iranian firms that may be controlled by a person who remains subject to US sanctions.
They are known as "specially designated nationals" or SDNs, for a variety of reasons, including its ballistic missile program, human rights record and support for groups the US deems to be terrorist organizations.
The new Treasury language says foreign transactions with non-sanctioned entities that are nonetheless "minority owned" or "controlled in whole or in part by an Iranian or Iran-related person on the SDN list" are "not necessarily sanctionable" under US regulations.
The US insists it has met its obligations and blamed Iranian behavior for the reluctance of foreign companies do to business in Iran. At the same time, it has sought to reassure foreign companies that certain transactions with Iran will no longer be subject to US sanctions.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content