Great Satan US removes all sanctions from IRISL

Iran’s media reported on Tuesday that the United States has removed the complete fleet of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), its staff and all companies affiliated to it from the list of sanctioned entities. 

IRNA reported that the move has been taken by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury.

It said some 170 IRISL ships, 132 companies and 16 of its staff had been sanctioned – mostly by virtue of resolution 1929 – since 2008.

Iran reached a deal with the P5+1 group of countries – the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany – over its nuclear energy program last July.  Based on the deal which is called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran limited certain aspects of its nuclear energy activities in return for the removal of some economic sanctions against the country.

The JCPOA was implemented this past Saturday when Iran saw a range of US-led economic sanctions that had been imposed on it for multiple years eventually lifted.

Sanctioning the IRISL – which is Iran’s biggest shipping operator – was a central theme in the sanctions that have been described as the harshest in history.

Other key themes included draconian bans against investing in Iran’s oil and gas projects, selling planes to the country and also developing the Iranian auto industry among many other issues.

The removal of the sanctions on the IRISL now means that the company’s ships can sail freely in international waters. This also means that Iran’s port can start to host ships from international operators – what had been previously made impossible as a result of the sanctions.