International sanctions against Iran

There have been a number of international sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia, following Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.^[1]

The first sanctions were imposed by the United States in November 1979,^[2] after a group of radical students seized the American Embassy in Tehran and took hostages. These sanctions were lifted in January 1981 after the hostages were released, but they were reimposed by the United States in 1987 in response to Iran's actions from 1981 to 1987 against the U.S. and vessels of other countries in the Persian Gulf and US claims of Iranian support for terrorism.^[3] The sanctions were expanded in 1995 to include firms dealing with the Iranian government.^[4]

The third sanctions were imposed in December 2006 pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737 after Iran refused to comply with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1696, which demanded that Iran halt its uranium enrichment program. Initially, U.S. sanctions targeted investments in oil, gas, and petrochemicals, exports of refined petroleum products, and business dealings with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It encompassed banking and insurance transactions (including with the Central Bank of Iran), shipping, web-hosting services for commercial endeavors, and domain name registration services.^[5] Subsequent UN Resolutions have expanded sanctions against Iran.

Over the years, sanctions have taken a serious toll on Iran's economy and people. Since 1979, the United States has led international efforts to use sanctions to influence Iran's policies,^[6] including Iran's uranium enrichment program, which Western governments fear is intended for developing the capability to produce nuclear weapons. Iran counters that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes, including generating electricity and medical purposes.^[7]

When nuclear talks between Iran and Western governments were stalled and seen as a failure, U.S. senators cited them as a reason to enforce stronger economic sanctions on Iran.^[8] On 2 April 2015, the P5+1 and Iran, meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, reached a provisional agreement on a framework that, once finalized and implemented, would lift most of the sanctions in exchange for limits on Iran's nuclear programs extending for at least ten years.^{[9][10][11][12]} The final agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was adopted on 18 October 2015.^[13] As a result, UN sanctions were lifted on 16 January 2016.^[14] On 8 May 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. Sanctions by the United States were reinstated in November 2018, and expanded in 2019 and 2020 to cover Iran's financial sector. Temporary waivers were granted to some countries to continue importing reduced amounts of oil from Iran until 2019.

On 21 February 2020, Iran was placed on the FATF blacklist.^[15]

The UN arms embargo on Iran expired on 18 October 2020, as agreed in Iran's 2015 nuclear deal, allowing Iran to import foreign military equipment.

Since October 2024, Iran has once again been placed on the official blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), primarily due to its failure to implement laws against terrorist financing, particularly in connection with its support for the Axis of Resistance.^[16][17] Subsequently, in March 2025, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) published a report warning German companies against trading with Iran.^[18]

On August 28, 2025, E3 members, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, initiated the process of the snapback mechanism,^[19] stating that despite upholding their own commitments, since 2019 Iran had "increasingly and deliberately ceased performing its JCPOA commitments",^[20] including "the accumulation of a highly enriched uranium stockpile which lacks any credible civiliian justification and is unprecedented for a state without a nuclear weapons program".^[20]