I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4258 

To impose sanctions against any entity with respect to which Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps owns, directly or indirectly, a 20 percent or greater 

interest in the entity, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 15, 2015 

Mr. ROSKAM (for himself, Mr. NUNES, Mr. POMPEO, and Mr. ZELDIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To impose sanctions against any entity with respect to which 

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps owns, directly or indirectly, a 20 percent or greater interest in the entity, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Quarantining the Aya5 tollah’s State-Sponsored Aggression and Militancy 

6 (QASSAM) Act’’. 


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1 TITLE I—IRAN’S REVOLU2 TIONARY GUARD CORPS 

3 WATCH LIST AND REPORT 

4 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) 

7 threatens the national security of the United States 

8 and United States allies. 

9 (2) The IRGC provides direct sponsorship and 

10 support to numerous foreign terrorist organizations, 

11 including Hamas and Hezbollah, and maintains sup12 port for the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria which 

13 is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths. 

14 (3) The United States holds the IRGC respon15 sible for severe and continuing human rights viola16 tions against the Iranian people, including unlawful 

17 arrests, torture, and harassment. 

18 (4) The United States currently upholds sanc19 tions against the IRGC for its support of terrorism 

20 and human rights abuses. 

21 (5) The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the 

22 Department of the Treasury currently includes the 

23 IRGC on the list of specially designated nationals 

24 and blocked persons maintained by the Office of 

25 Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the 


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1 Treasury (in this section referred to as the ‘‘SDN 

2 list’’). 

3 (6) The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the 

4 Department of the Treasury includes on the SDN 

5 list entities in which the IRGC owns a 50 percent 

6 or greater interest. The inclusion of an entity on the 

7 SDN list results in the blocking of all assets and 

8 property of such entity. This regulation, commonly 

9 termed the ‘‘50 percent rule’’, is codified in section 

10 561.405 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, 

11 and is the standard used by the Office of Foreign 

12 Assets Control when determining ownership of enti13 ties owned or controlled by blocked or sanctioned 

14 persons. 

15 (7) The IRGC maintains a powerful and expan16 sive presence throughout Iran’s financial, commer17 cial, and oil sectors, owning, controlling, operating, 

18 and influencing Iranian entities while producing rev19 enues estimated in the billions of dollars. According 

20 to the Department of the Treasury, ‘‘The IRGC has 

21 a growing presence in Iran’s financial and commer22 cial sectors and extensive economic interests in the 

23 defense production, construction, and oil industries, 

24 controlling billions of dollars in corporate business.’’. 


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1 (8) The IRGC has continuously practiced sanc2 tions evasion and deceptive business practices to 

3 conceal its ownership over Iranian entities, owning 

4 numerous Iranian entities which are not on the SDN 

5 list because IRGC ownership is below 50 percent, 

6 leaving such entities unsanctioned and open to busi7 ness. 

8 (9) As sanctions are lifted and Iran becomes 

9 more open to international commerce, the inter10 national community must be aware of any and all 

11 entities that are IRGC-owned, -controlled, -operated, 

12 or influenced, including those entities that do not 

13 make the threshold to be included on the SDN list. 

14 SEC. 102. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS AGAINST ENTITIES 

15 OWNED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY IRGC. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose the 

17 sanctions described in subsection (b) against any entity 

18 with respect to which Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps 

19 owns, directly or indirectly, a 20 percent or greater inter20 est in the entity, regardless of whether the entity itself 

21 is included on the list of specially designated nationals and 

22 blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign As23 sets Control of the Department of the Treasury. 

24 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The blocking, in accordance 

2 with the International Emergency Economic Powers 

3 Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), of all transactions in 

4 all property and interests in property of an entity if 

5 such property and interests in property are in the 

6 United States, come within the United States, or are 

7 or come within the possession or control of a United 

8 States person. 

9 (2) INAPPLICABILITY OF NATIONAL EMER10 GENCY REQUIREMENT.—The requirements of section 

11 202 of the International Emergency Economic Pow12 ers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701) shall not apply for pur13 poses of this section. 

14 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in16 dividual or entity. 

17 (2) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

18 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

19 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law20 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

21 United States; or 

22 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

23 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 

24 the United States, including a foreign branch of 

25 such an entity. 


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1 SEC. 103. IRGC WATCH LIST AND REPORT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

3 shall establish, maintain, and publish in the Federal Reg4 ister a list of each entity with respect to which Iran’s Rev5 olutionary Guard Corps— 

6 (1) owns, directly or indirectly, any interest 

7 that is less than 20 percent in the entity; or 

8 (2) does not own any interest in the entity but 

9 maintains a presence on the board of directors of the 

10 entity or otherwise influences the actions, policies, or 

11 personnel decisions of the entity. 

12 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

13 of the enactment of the Act, and annually thereafter, the 

14 Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to Congress a re15 port on any changes to the list required by subsection (a). 

16 (c) REFERENCE.—The list required by subsection (a) 

17 shall be known as the ‘‘IRGC Watch List’’. 

18 SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS. 

19 Except as otherwise provided, in this title: 

20 (1) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means any 

21 corporation, business association, partnership, trust, 

22 society, or any other entity. 

23 (2) IRGC.—The term ‘‘IRGC’’ means Iran’s 

24 Revolutionary Guard Corps. 


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1 TITLE II—OTHER PROVISIONS 

2 SEC. 201. AUTHORITY OF STATES AND LOCAL GOVERN3 MENTS TO DIVEST FROM CERTAIN COMPA4 NIES THAT ENGAGE IN INVESTMENT OR BUSI5 NESS ACTIVITIES WITH IRAN’S REVOLU6 TIONARY GUARD CORPS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title III of the Iran 

8 Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 

9 (Public Law 112–158; 126 Stat. 1247), is amended by 

10 adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 313. AUTHORITY OF STATES AND LOCAL GOVERN12 MENTS TO DIVEST FROM PERSONS THAT EN13 GAGE IN INVESTMENT OR BUSINESS ACTIVI14 TIES WITH IRAN’S REVOLUTIONARY GUARD 

15 CORPS. 

16 ‘‘(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that the United States should support the decision 

18 of any State or local government that for moral, pruden19 tial, or reputational reasons divests from, or prohibits the 

20 investment of assets of the State or local government in, 

21 a person that engages in investment or business activities 

22 with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps or Iran’s Revolu23 tionary Guard Corps-related companies, as long as Iran’s 

24 Revolutionary Guard Corps is subject to economic sanc25 tions imposed by the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO DIVEST.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of law, a State or local government may 

3 adopt and enforce measures that meet the requirements 

4 of subsection (d) to divest the assets of the State or local 

5 government from, or prohibit investment of the assets of 

6 the State or local government in, any person that the 

7 State or local government determines, using credible infor8 mation available to the public, engages in investment or 

9 business activities with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps 

10 or Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps-related companies 

11 described in subsection (c). 

12 ‘‘(c) INVESTMENT OR BUSINESS ACTIVITIES DE13 SCRIBED.—A person engages in investment or business ac14 tivities with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps or Iran’s 

15 Revolutionary Guard Corps-related companies if the per16 son— 

17 ‘‘(1) has a financial investment in Iran’s Revo18 lutionary Guard Corps or an Iran’s Revolutionary 

19 Guard Corps-related company; 

20 ‘‘(2) owns, in whole or in part, an Iran’s Revo21 lutionary Guard Corps-related company; or 

22 ‘‘(3) is a financial institution that extends cred23 it or financing to another person, for 45 days or 

24 more, if that person will use the credit or financing 


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1 for investment in an Iran’s Revolutionary Guard 

2 Corps-related company. 

3 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS.—Any measure taken by a 

4 State or local government under subsection (b) shall meet 

5 the following requirements: 

6 ‘‘(1) NOTICE.—The State or local government 

7 shall provide written notice to each person to which 

8 a measure is to be applied. 

9 ‘‘(2) TIMING.—The measure shall apply to a 

10 person not earlier than the date that is 90 days 

11 after the date on which written notice is provided to 

12 the person under paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(3) OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING.—The State 

14 or local government shall provide an opportunity to 

15 comment in writing to each person to which a meas16 ure is to be applied. If the person demonstrates to 

17 the State or local government that the person does 

18 not engage in investment or business activities with 

19 Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps or Iran’s Revolu20 tionary Guard Corps-related companies described in 

21 subsection (c), the measure shall not apply to the 

22 person. 

23 ‘‘(4) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON AVOIDING ERRO24 NEOUS TARGETING.—It is the sense of Congress 

25 that a State or local government should not adopt 


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1 a measure under subsection (b) with respect to a 

2 person unless the State or local government has 

3 made every effort to avoid erroneously targeting the 

4 person and has verified that the person engages in 

5 business or investment activities with Iran’s Revolu6 tionary Guard Corps or Iran’s Revolutionary Guard 

7 Corps-related companies described in subsection (c). 

8 ‘‘(e) NOTICE TO DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.—Not 

9 later than 30 days after adopting a measure pursuant to 

10 subsection (b), a State or local government shall submit 

11 written notice to the Attorney General describing the 

12 measure. 

13 ‘‘(f) NONPREEMPTION.—A measure of a State or 

14 local government authorized under subsection (b) or (i) 

15 is not preempted by any Federal law or regulation. 

16 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 ‘‘(1) ASSETS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

19 subparagraph (B), the term ‘assets’ refers to 

20 public monies and includes any pension, retire21 ment, annuity, or endowment fund, or similar 

22 instrument, that is controlled by a State or 

23 local government. 

24 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘assets’ does 

25 not include employee benefit plans covered by 


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1 title I of the Employee Retirement Income Se2 curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(2) INVESTMENT.—The ‘investment’ in4 cludes— 

5 ‘‘(A) a commitment or contribution of 

6 funds or property; 

7 ‘‘(B) a loan or other extension of credit; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(C) the entry into or renewal of a con10 tract for goods or services. 

11 ‘‘(h) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graph (2) or subsection (i), this section applies to 

14 measures adopted by a State or local government be15 fore, on, or after the date of the enactment of this 

16 Act. 

17 ‘‘(2) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.—Except as pro18 vided in subsection (i), subsections (d) and (e) apply 

19 to measures adopted by a State or local government 

20 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION FOR PRIOR ENACTED MEAS22 URES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

24 provision of this section or any other provision of 

25 law, a State or local government may enforce a 


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1 measure (without regard to the requirements of sub2 section (d), except as provided in paragraph (2)) 

3 adopted by the State or local government before the 

4 date of this section that provides for the divestment 

5 of assets of the State or local government from, or 

6 prohibits the investment of the assets of the State 

7 or local government in, any person that the State or 

8 local government determines, using credible informa9 tion available to the public, engages in business or 

10 investment activities with Iran’s Revolutionary 

11 Guard Corps or Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps12 related companies (determined without regard to 

13 subsection (c)) or other business or investment ac14 tivities that are identified in the measure. 

15 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF NOTICE REQUIRE16 MENTS.—A measure described in paragraph (1) 

17 shall be subject to the requirements of paragraphs 

18 (1) and (2) and the first sentence of paragraph (3) 

19 of subsection (d) on and after the date that is 2 

20 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 ‘‘(j) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec22 tion or any other provision of law authorizing sanctions 

23 with respect to Iran shall be construed to abridge the au24 thority of a State to issue and enforce rules governing the 

25 safety, soundness, and solvency of a financial institution 


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1 subject to its jurisdiction or the business of insurance pur2 suant to the Act of March 9, 1945 (15 U.S.C. 1011 et 

3 seq.) (commonly known as the ‘McCarran-Ferguson 

4 Act’).’’. 

5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

6 for the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights 

7 Act of 2012 is amended by adding after the item relating 

8 to section 312 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 313. Authority of States and local governments to divest from certain 

companies that engage in investment or business activities with 

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.’’. 

9 TITLE III—TERMINATION 

10 SEC. 301. TERMINATION. 

11 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

12 terminate on the date that is 30 days after the date on 

13 which the President makes the certification described in 

14 section 401(a) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Ac15 countability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 

16 8551(a)). 

Æ 


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