Iran Oil Sanctions Act of 1995

Summary: Iran Oil Sanctions Act of 1995 - Directs the President to impose certain credit sanctions against persons who, with actual knowledge, have made an investment of more than $40 million in any 12-month period that has significantly contributed to the development of petroleum resources in Iran.  Requires the President to publish in the Federal Register a list of persons that are subject to such sanctions. 
(Sec. 6) Authorizes the Secretary of State, upon the request of any person, to issue an advisory opinion as to whether a proposed activity would subject that person to sanctions under this Act. 
(Sec. 7) Authorizes waiver of the requirements of this Act if the President reports to specified congressional committees that it is important to U.S. national interest to exercise such waiver. 
(Sec. 8) Terminates such sanctions if the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that Iran:  (1) has ceased its efforts to develop or acquire a nuclear explosive device, chemical or biological weapons, or ballistic missiles or related launch technology; and (2) has been removed from the list of state sponsors of international terrorism. 
(Sec. 9) Requires the President to report periodically to the Congress on Iran's:  (1) nuclear and other military capabilities; and (2) support for acts of international terrorism. 
(Sec. 11) Declares that the sanctions and requirements of this Act shall also apply to persons making investments for the development of petroleum resources in Libya.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Iran Oil Sanctions Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The efforts of the Government of Iran to acquire 
        weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them and 
        its support of international terrorism endanger the national 
        security and foreign policy interests of the United States and 
        those countries with which it shares common strategic and 
        foreign policy objectives.
            (2) The objective of preventing the proliferation of 
        weapons of mass destruction and international terrorism through 
        existing multilateral and bilateral initiatives requires 
        additional efforts to deny Iran the financial means to sustain 
        its nuclear, chemical, biological, and missile weapons 
        programs.

SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

    The Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States to 
deny Iran the ability to support international terrorism and to fund 
the development and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and the 
means to deliver them by limiting the development of petroleum 
resources in Iran.

SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (d), the 
President shall impose one or more of the sanctions described in 
section 5 on a person subject to this section (in this Act referred to 
as a ``sanctioned person''), if the President determines that the 
person has, with actual knowledge, on or after the date of enactment of 
this Act, made an investment of more than $40,000,000 (or any 
combination of investments of at least $10,000,000 each, which in the 
aggregate exceeds $40,000,000 in any 12-month period), that 
significantly and materially contributed to the development of 
petroleum resources in Iran.
    (b) Persons Against Which the Sanctions Are To Be Imposed.--The 
sanctions described in subsection (a) shall be imposed on any person 
the President determines--
            (1) has carried out the activities described in subsection 
        (a);
            (2) is a successor entity to that person;
            (3) is a person that is a parent or subsidiary of that 
        person if that parent or subsidiary with actual knowledge 
        engaged in the activities which were the basis of that 
        determination; and
            (4) is a person that is an affiliate of that person if that 
        affiliate with actual knowledge engaged in the activities which 
        were the basis of that determination and if that affiliate is 
        controlled in fact by that person.
    (c) Publication in Federal Register.--The President shall cause to 
be published in the Federal Register a current list of persons that are 
subject to sanctions under subsection (a). The President shall remove 
or add the names of persons to the list published under this subsection 
as may be necessary.
    (d) Exceptions.--The President shall not be required to apply or 
maintain the sanctions under subsection (a)--
            (1) to products or services provided under contracts 
        entered into before the date on which the President publishes 
        his intention to impose the sanction; or
            (2) to medicines, medical supplies, or other humanitarian 
        items.

SEC. 5. DESCRIPTION OF SANCTIONS.

    The sanctions to be imposed on a person under section 4(a) are as 
follows:
            (1) Export-import bank assistance for exports to sanctioned 
        persons.--The President may direct the Export-Import Bank of 
        the United States not to guarantee, insure, extend credit, or 
        participate in the extension of credit in connection with the 
        export of any goods or services to any sanctioned person.
            (2) Export sanction.--The President may order the United 
        States Government not to issue any specific license and not to 
        grant any other specific permission or authority to export any 
        goods or technology to a sanctioned person under--
                    (A) the Export Administration Act of 1979;
                    (B) the Arms Export Control Act;
                    (C) the Atomic Energy Act of 1954; or
                    (D) any other statute that requires the prior 
                review and approval of the United States Government as 
                a condition for the exportation of goods and services, 
                or their re-export, to any person designated by the 
                President under section 4(a).
            (3) Loans from united states financial institutions.--The 
        United States Government may prohibit any United States 
        financial institution from making any loan or providing any 
        credit to any sanctioned person in an amount exceeding 
        $10,000,000 in any 12-month period (or two or more loans of 
        more than $5,000,000 each in such period) unless such person is 
        engaged in activities to relieve human suffering within the 
        meaning of section 203(b)(2) of the International Emergency 
        Economic Powers Act.
            (4) Prohibitions on financial institutions.--The following 
        prohibitions may be imposed against financial institutions 
        sanctioned under section 4(a):
                    (A) Designation as primary dealer.--Neither the 
                Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System nor 
                the Federal Reserve Bank of New York may designate, or 
                permit the continuation of any prior designation of, 
                such financial institution as a primary dealer in 
                United States Government debt instruments.
                    (B) Government funds.--Such financial institution 
                shall not serve as agent of the United States 
                Government or serve as repository for United States 
                Government funds.

SEC. 6. ADVISORY OPINIONS.

    The Secretary of State may, upon the request of any person, issue 
an advisory opinion, to that person as to whether a proposed activity 
by that person would subject that person to sanctions under this Act. 
Any person who relies in good faith on such an advisory opinion which 
states that the proposed activity would not subject a person to such 
sanctions, and any person who thereafter engages in such activity, may 
not be made subject to such sanctions on account of such activity.

SEC. 7. DURATION OF SANCTIONS; PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER.

    (a) Delay of Sanctions.--
            (1) Consultations.--If the President makes a determination 
        described in section 4(a) with respect to a foreign person, the 
        Congress urges the President to initiate consultations 
        immediately with the government with primary jurisdiction over 
        that foreign person with respect to the imposition of sanctions 
        pursuant to this Act.
            (2) Actions by government of jurisdiction.--In order to 
        pursue such consultations with that government, the President 
        may delay imposition of sanctions pursuant to this Act for up 
        to 90 days. Following such consultations, the President shall 
        immediately impose a sanction or sanctions unless the President 
        determines and certifies to the Congress that the government 
        has taken specific and effective actions, including, as 
        appropriate, the imposition of appropriate penalties, to 
        terminate the involvement of the foreign person in the 
        activities that resulted in the determination by the President 
        pursuant to section 4(a) concerning such person.
            (3) Additional delay in imposition of sanctions.--The 
        President may delay the imposition of sanctions for up to an 
        additional 90 days if the President determines and certifies to 
        the Congress that the government with primary jurisdiction over 
        the foreign person is in the process of taking the actions 
        described in paragraph (2).
            (4) Report to congress.--Not later than 90 days after 
        making a determination under section 4(a), the President shall 
        submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs 
        of the Senate and the Committee on International Relations of 
        the House of Representatives a report which shall include 
        information on the status of consultations with the appropriate 
        foreign government under this subsection, and the basis for any 
        determination under paragraph (3).
    (b) Duration of Sanctions..--The requirement to impose sanctions 
pursuant to section 4(a) shall remain in effect until the President 
determines that the sanctioned person is no longer engaging in the 
activity that led to the imposition of sanctions.
    (c) Presidential Waiver.--(1) The President may waive the 
requirement in section 4(a) to impose a sanction or sanctions on a 
person in section 4(b), and may waive the continued imposition of a 
sanction or sanctions under subsection (b) of this section, 15 days 
after the President determines and so reports to the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
International Relations of the House of Representatives that it is 
important to the national interest of the United States to exercise 
such waiver authority.
    (2) Any such report shall provide a specific and detailed rationale 
for such determination, including--
            (A) a description of the conduct that resulted in the 
        determination;
            (B) in the case of a foreign person, an explanation of the 
        efforts to secure the cooperation of the government with 
        primary jurisdiction of the sanctioned person to terminate or, 
        as appropriate, penalize the activities that resulted in the 
        determination;
            (C) an estimate as to the significance of the investment to 
        Iran's ability to develop its petroleum resources; and
            (D) a statement as to the response of the United States in 
        the event that such person engages in other activities that 
        would be subject to section 4(a).

SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.

    The sanctions requirement of section 4 shall no longer have force 
or effect if the President determines and certifies to the appropriate 
congressional committees that Iran--
            (1) has ceased its efforts to design, develop, manufacture, 
        or acquire--
                    (A) a nuclear explosive device or related materials 
                and technology;
                    (B) chemical and biological weapons; or
                    (C) ballistic missiles and ballistic missile launch 
                technology; and
            (2) has been removed from the list of state sponsors of 
        international terrorism under section 6(j) of the Export 
        Administration Act of 1979.

SEC. 9. REPORT REQUIRED.

    The President shall ensure the continued transmittal to Congress of 
reports describing--
            (1) the nuclear and other military capabilities of Iran, as 
        required by section 601(a) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act 
        of 1978 and section 1607 of the National Defense Authorization 
        Act, Fiscal Year 1993; and
            (2) the support provided by Iran for acts of international 
        terrorism, as part of the Department of State's annual report 
        on international terrorism.

SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committees 
        on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Foreign Relations of 
        the Senate and the Committees on Banking and Financial Services 
        and International Relations of the House of Representatives.
            (2) Financial institution.--The term ``financial 
        institution'' includes--
                    (A) a depository institution (as defined in section 
                3(c)(1) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act), 
                including a branch or agency of a foreign bank (as 
                defined in section 1(b)(7) of the International Banking 
                Act of 1978);
                    (B) a credit union;
                    (C) a securities firm, including a broker or 
                dealer;
                    (D) an insurance company, including an agency or 
                underwriter;
                    (E) any other company that provides financial 
                services; or
                    (F) any subsidiary of such financial institution.
            (3) Investment.--The term ``investment'' means--
                    (A) the entry into a contract that includes 
                responsibility for the development of petroleum 
                resources located in Iran, or the entry into a contract 
                providing for the general supervision and guarantee of 
                another person's performance of such a contract;
                    (B) the purchase of a share of ownership in that 
                development; or
                    (C) the entry into a contract providing for 
                participation in royalties, earnings, or profits in 
                that development, without regard to the form of the 
                participation.
            (4) Person.--The term ``person'' means a natural person as 
        well as a corporation, business association, partnership, 
        society, trust, any other nongovernmental entity, organization, 
        or group, and any governmental entity operating as a business 
        enterprise, and any successor of any such entity.
            (5) Petroleum resources.--The term ``petroleum resources'' 
        includes petroleum and natural gas resources.

SEC. 11. APPLICATION OF THE ACT TO LIBYA.

    The sanctions of this Act, including the terms and conditions for 
the imposition, duration, and termination of sanctions, shall apply to 
persons making investments for the development of petroleum resources 
in Libya in the same manner as those sanctions apply under this Act to 
persons making investments for such development in Iran.

            Passed the Senate December 20, 1995.

            Attest:

                                             KELLY D. JOHNSTON,

                                                             Secretary.